DFA revokes ASEAN art prize for ‘plagiarism’

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday, May 21, revoked the top prize given to a Filipino painter after an investigation showed that the winning art work was plagiarized.

The painting entitled “Fast to the Future” by graphic artist Christian Joy Trinidad won first place and a cash prize of P50,000 in the ASEAN-Philippines Painting Contest held from May to July 2013 in celebration of the 46th founding anniversary of the ASEAN.

The art work features a woman wearing a helmet-like device and surrounded by images of balloons, planes, children and other visual elements.

The department conducted an investigation after it received complaints that the artwork was plagiarized from the work of Spanish digital artist Nekro.

In a statement given to Rappler on May 21, Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, the DFA spokesperson, said the judges of the competition found that “the subject entry was not completely original, which is a major criterion of the competition.”

Jose added that the judges want Trinidad to return the cash prize and the Certificate of Excellence. He is also expected to “issue an apology for submitting an entry copied from the work of another artist.”

Public watch

Netizens were the first to spot the similarity in Trinidad and Nekros’ art works. 

On March 25 this year, Facebook user EJ dela Cruz posted a composite photo of Trinidad’s work together with a similar-looking work. The words “rip off” was superimposed in bold red letters on Trinidad’s work.

Facebook user Francis Estanislao also shared the composite photo showing comparisons between Nekro’s and Trinidad’s work, as well as common elements in the two works.

On March 31, Spanish digital artist Nekro claimed authorship of the work “Music for my eyes” after friends brought the suspected plagiarism to his attention. 

He thanked Filipino netizens for informing him about Trinidad’s work and asked organizers to address the situation.

Nekro, however, commented that he wasn’t out for Trinidad’s blood. He just wanted the erring artist to apologize.

“I’m just asking him to accept the plagiarism (sic) and to be fair with the other contestants,” the Spanish artist said.

In a GMA News interview aired April 1, Trinidad defended his work.

“Hindi ko naman inaangkin yung image na ginawa kong reference. Ginawa ko syang totally na reference. Na-inspire ako sa kanya. Nilagyan ko sya ng ibang flavor, nagdagdag ako ng iba-ibang istorya,” he is quoted as saying.

(I’m not claiming the work that I used as a reference. I made it a reference because I was inspired by it. I incorporated a different flavor and added different narratives.)

He added that he had no bad intentions in “referencing” another artist’s work for his own, and that he would cooperate with the DFA investigation regarding the matter. 

Rappler tried to get the side of Trinidad but was unable to reach him.

Growing number of plagiarism cases

Trinidad’s case is not the first time Filipinos plagiarized the work of foreigners.

In 2013, graduate student Mark Joseph Solis plagiarized a photo he submitted to the Calidad Humana photography contest sponsored by the Chilean Embassy in Manila. He was stripped off of the award, while the University of the Philippines, his alma mater, conducted an investigation into his other possible plagiarized works. Solis later admitted plagiarizing the photo and apologized to the photographer and the contest organizers. 

Senator Tito Sotto was also accused of copying parts of his speech against the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill from an American writer’s blog post in August 2012. Sotto later apologized.

More recently, news network CNN sacked one of its news editors for allegedly plagiarizing more than 50 pieces that she wrote for the organization’s international news section. – Rappler.com/with reports from Carol Ramoran, David Lozada

 

Images are from the Facebook accounts of Ej Dela Cruz and Nekro.