As the celebrities walked the Met Gala red carpet Monday night (May 1), they posed under several chandeliers made from recycled plastic water bottles. For some viewers, the fixtures seemed familiar: they recall the artist’s sculptures Willie Cole, who now accuses the event, organized by Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of a “blatant rip-off” of his art. In several Instagram posts on May 2, Cole shared photographs of the fundraiser’s chandeliers and his sculptures, in writing that he has received messages since the event about alleged plagiarism.
“Is it flattery or theft? ” He asked. The social media posts were first reported by art news.
A post by artist Willie Cole on Instagram claiming that chandeliers featured at the 2023 Met Gala were unauthorized copies of his sculptures Screenshot via Instagram
New Jersey-based Cole is known for using discarded objects such as shoes, hair dryers and musical instruments to create sculptures that consider ideas around memory, appropriation and threats. environmental. He has repurposed plastic water bottles for over a decade, turning thousands of them into works like a full size car, larger than life birds and chandeliers.
Two copies of the latter were exhibited in 2013 in a gallery in Newark; last February, Cole unveiled another pair for an ongoing exhibit at Newark Express, which was featured in The New York Times. The sculptures are intended to respond to the “twin environmental crises of 2019: lead contamination of drinking water in aging lead pipes and the opening of centers throughout the city to distribute water through thousands single-use plastic bottles. according to a text on the gallery’s website.
The Met Gala’s decor was designed by the event’s designer Raul Avilawho has overseen the ball’s visual production since 2007. According to vogue“the concept [of using thousands of recycled water bottles] hailing from Tadao Ando,” who designed the new Met’s Costume Institute exhibit, Karl Lagerfeld: a beauty line.
“Given the current climate, we wanted to highlight the importance of giving our everyday objects more than one life cycle,” Avila said. vogue. “We wanted to find a way to create a durable design that would implement the bottles in a jaw-dropping installation unlike anything we’ve done before.” Thousands of additional bottles formed barriers that lined the red-carpeted stairs, as well as a monumental, round installation inside the museum’s Great Hall.
The Met also owns several works by Cole, including his sculpture Shine (2007), which is made from high-heeled leather shoes. The work is currently on display in the museum’s exhibition Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room.
Representatives from the Met and vogue did not respond to requests for comment.
