A Calgary-based artist, whose downtown art installation is being removed after red flags were raised about the source of photographs in the piece, is apologizing for the situation he calls a “misunderstanding.”
The public art installation SNAPSHOTS, located in the 4 Street S.W. underpass, came under fire on Monday after a U.K.-based comedian took to Twitter claiming the photos used in the piece were of her and several other comics – and were used without permission.
The city immediately launched an investigation into the artwork, and determined on Tuesday that the piece would be removed.
“As part of the city’s investigation, we have been in contact with the artist. The artist has said that we should remove the installation,” the city said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, artist Derek Michael Besant said in an emailed statement that he wanted to “apologize to all concerned.”
“When I received some torn-out pages from a handout flyer with these faces, my impression was they were already out in the public domain,” Besant said.
“Therefore, I thought they could be collaged as backgrounds to be further interrupted with text elements for the 4 Street community art-site concept.”
WATCH: A Calgary public art display is being removed over allegations of copyright infringement. As Tony Tighe reports, the artist behind the display has told the city to remove the installation.
Besant went on to say the intention of the project was to portray “strangers that could be from anywhere, in any city,” and to spark conversation about who people are within cities.
“In no way did I ever mean to hurt anyone involved, and I am extremely sorry that this is the result of my misunderstanding,” Besant said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said on Wednesday the city would not be looking into other art pieces commissioned by Besant.
The temporary piece SNAPSHOTS was commissioned for $20,000 as part of the city’s public art program. It was installed in October 2015.
Besant is a retired faculty member of the Alberta College of Art and Design, where he taught for many years.
In a statement on Wednesday, the school said it keeps a “healthy distance” from personal work of faculty members, “respecting their academic freedom.”
“While our curriculum has built into it the foundations of ethical practice, particularly through our School of Critical and Creative Studies programming, administratively we are not in the business of monitoring faculty independent practice, nor would we want to be,” the statement reads.
“In studio classes there is ongoing discussion between faculty and students regarding copyright, intellectual property, etc., as these issues come up in student research and creative work.”