I may not know Jeremy Taylor too well, but he strikes me as the sort of person whose wrath is as difficult to incur as that of a Labrador puppy. The local artist takes it easy on the earth with his work, and we recently praised him for his efforts in eco-friendly and non-toxic art.
That being said, Taylor posted an interesting comparison on the blog that he shares with his wife, Allyson Mellberg Taylor: photos of his work featuring repeated and interconnected triangles, and a bowl featuring a similar pattern at Urban Outfitters. His response? No aggression, no animosity—simply a proclamation that, henceforth, he plans to retire that design from his work. (He also includes this link to a blog called Urban Counterfeiters.)
Taylor’s situation presents a nice opportunity to consider what I’ll call "similarities" in their many forms. More than a year ago, a former local designer and friend had a similar issue crop up with a t-shirt. (Read the account here; long since settled.) Also, since having the comparison pointed out to me, I’ve always been slightly troubled by how closely the Jam’s "Start!" resembles the Beatles’ "Taxman." And let’s not forget Waldo Jaquith’s post in the VQR about Chris Anderson’s Free (also covered by UVA professor Siva Vaidhyanathan).
Ever been troubled by similarities between two seemingly separate designs, songs, books, etc? How do you calibrate your moral scale for this sort of situation? Does Girl Talk make you angry, or make you dance? Leave some thoughts below.
