Interpol apologise for inadvertently copying artist’s work for ‘Antics’ 20th anniversary tour poster

nme.com:

Interpol have apologised for inadvertently copying another artist’s work for the poster for their forthcoming ‘Antics’ 20th anniversary tour.The tour poster resembles a painting by New York-based mural and studio artist Tony Sjöman, which he produced on commission.

While not an exact replica, the noticeable similarities between the two led to a friend of Sjöman angrily pointing it out.“At first when I saw this amazing new tour poster from @interpol I jumped at the idea of my friend getting such a cool project to work on… as I reached out to @rubinartnyc / @tonysjoman with a picture he said where did you find this?

I pointed him to the post and he let me know they flat out stole this artwork and repurposed it for their own marketing… they didn’t reach out, they didn’t ask for permission,” Sjöman’s friend wrote on Instagram.“As an art supporter and as a licensing professional… I am beyond disbelief they would do this.

Please help me get my good friend and artist what he deserves… tag @interpol let them know how you feel about them stealing @rubinartnyc / @tonysjoman work for their promotion!”A post shared by Andrew Gutterson (@greymatterbbox)Now, Interpol have apologised to the artist, saying that they were unaware of the similarities between his artwork and their poster.“Interpol would like to apologise to Tony Sjöman and acknowledge that all usage of his work was without his consent or prior discussion,” Interpol said in a statement.“We were under the impression that the designer we were working with was presenting us with original work.