On the requirements for holding an exhibition of Maria Prymachenko’s works in Finland

The Finnish design company Marimekko, whose artist Kristina Isola did an illegal “re-make” of Prymachenko’s painting, is now considering holding a Prymachenko exhibition in Finland as a way to make amends! Let us recall that The Day covered this story in its No. 35 from June 4, 2013 in the article “Maria Prymachenko and Finnish airplanes.” The artwork which Isola plagiarized is housed in the National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art in Kyiv. Therefore, it fell to the museum’s employees to offer Marimekko to hold an exhibition.

The institution’s director Adriana Vialets told The Day about details of the affair, the chances of the exhibition of the Ukrainian folk painter Prymachenko (1908-97) going forward, and our country’s reaction to the scandal:

“I sent Marimekko a letter, telling that we had learned from the media that Kristina Isola used Prymachenko’s artwork, asking them to formally confirm the fact, describe the extent of plagiarizing A Rat on the Road and reveal how they were going to repair this infringement of our painter’s copyright. They gave us a civil and prompt reply, apologizing and saying that they were very upset that the designer used this painting. By the way, it had been in use there since 2007! They have painted over this plagiarized design in the plane’s livery, but other products with the same design have been already sold... The company’s representatives agreed to consider my earlier proposal made in an interview with Finnish media and calling for the two sides to take a step towards each other and put Prymachenko’s works on display in Finland, including the original of the plagiarized painting, so that the Finns would see our painter’s greatness. They replied to the effect that they supported this idea in principle and looked forward to further negotiations about it.”

Will you meet the company’s representatives or keep mailing them?

“We have no money to pay for a flight to Finland. Besides, I have not hired a lawyer yet, to help us deal with this issue. We are now in correspondence with all parties to the scandal. Beside us and the Finns, there is another Ukrainian party, Prymachenko’s heirs, who own the copyright to the master’s creative legacy. The situation is complicated by the fact that the painting A Rat on the Road is housed in the National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art and belongs to the public museum collections of Ukraine. Therefore, it falls under the provision stating that an artwork may be used in its entirety or in part for manufacturing of souvenirs only with the written consent of the museum. It means that Kristina Isola should be brought to account for the copyright infringement. I was distressed when they painted over that plane’s livery. These trees looked beautiful on the fuselage. I proposed to keep them intact, only with Prymachenko’s copyright restored.

“As the Finns like our brilliant artist’s painting so much, an exhibition of her works looks like a right thing to do, especially since our museum’s Prymachenko exhibition includes about 650 items! We can prepare the exhibition, provided that the Finnish side will pay all the expenses. Marimekko confirmed that they considered this proposal interesting, but so far it has not gone beyond correspondence and discussions.”

How should the Ukrainian authorities respond to this scandal?

“I do not think that our government should impose any sanctions, but it was a clear violation of the international law of copyright and related rights. The issue calls for a legal action on Ukraine’s part. We are now running over the Ukrainian international lawyers’ list looking for one who would take up the case, for an apology is not enough! You know how Ukraine is criticized for constantly infringing copyright, and we feel ourselves less than comfortable when such claims are put forward. Here, though, we face an infringement of the famous Ukrainian painter’s copyright.”