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!”
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. We were wrong.
“Ultimately the responsibility lies with us to ensure we do not disseminate an artist’s work without their permission in our promotions, and so for that reason we apologize and pledge to do better moving forward to ensure the protection of the artist’s creative property.”
Responding to the incident, Sjöman seemed to have taken the situation well, especially as he was a fan of the band.
“Having your work plagiarized is unfortunate, but the way in which @interpol immediately took action is both rare and admirable!” he wrote on Instagram. “The band had no prior knowledge of my work being used in their merch and the irony of it all is that (as a decades long fan of their music) I would have loved this commission! If you haven’t in a while – crank up ‘Antics’ the bands’ sophomore album celebrating 20 years this summer, it’s great!”
Interpol will be taking the ‘Antics’ tour across the UK and Europe in the autumn, followed by a run of shows in the US.
Check out the full list of dates below and find any remaining tickets here and here.
OCTOBER
19 – Stockholm, Sweden, Cirkus
20 – Copenhagen, National Radio Koncerthuset
29 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
30 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
NOVEMBER
1 – Wolverhampton, The Halls
2 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
4 – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
5 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
7 – Bristol, Beacon
8 – London, Alexandra Palace
