THE TWO FINISHED PIECES, SIDE BY SIDE
A local Main Street program is in hot water at the moment, dealing with online calls of plagiarism following the installation of a new mural on the side of Domino’s Pizza, at 2 E. Main Street [GMap] in Apopka.
According to The Apopka Voice, the installation is part of a larger initiative to revitalize the city’s historic downtown through a series of new public art pieces. Appropriately entitled, The Downtown Mural, the piece invites people to stand in front of it and take a selfie, with a little floating banner above their heads that reads, “Wish You Were Here.”
However, Iowa-based artist Jenna Brownlee (Instagram), is calling foul. She is claiming she designed the mural back in 2017 for a community in Ankeny, Iowa, and that the Apopka piece is clearly plagiarized from her work.
Ridge Bonnick, or Ridge The Artist (Instagram), says he was provided a sketch by Apopka Main Street and contracted to paint the design as pictured, without any ability to modify it himself, not knowing it was another artist’s design who was not involved in the process. Now he is being targeted by online commenters claiming he plagiarized the piece. He has since shared the private communication he’s had with Brownlee in his Stories.
Bonnick is also claiming that Apopka Main Street had advised him to remain silent on the situation. Apopka Main Street (Website) has since issued a public apology, but did not share where they had found the inspiration for their commission, simply stating that they were in communication with Brownlee to “properly acknowledge her work and provide fair compensation.” You can read their full statement here.
“We would like to address concerns regarding our recently completed mural.
It has come to our attention that the mural closely resembles the work of artist, Mrs. Jenna Brownlee. We sincerely apologize to Mrs. Brownlee and to our community. While our goal is to celebrate Apopka through public art, recognize that the result reflects too closely on her original creation.
As a nonprofit dedicated to revitalize our historic downtown, we strive to uplift artists and act with integrity. We are now in direct communication with Mrs. Brownlee to properly acknowledge her work and provide fair compensation.
We are grateful for the patience and understanding of our community as we work to resolve this matter in a way that honors the artist and reflects the values of our organization.”
– Main Street Apopka
Bonnick has since shared a statement of his own, which we have below.
“At the end of the day, it took me a month to do your work , not knowing I’d have to deal with copyright issues or public bullying because of it. Mind you I spoke with Jenna and she hasn’t replied , but The fact that I wasn’t included in your apology, and that you’ve allowed people to bash me without correction, is simply wrong. I don’t care what anyone thinks; karma works both ways.
There were concepts of @jenna_brownlee’s work sent to multiple artists, and I’m sure they believed they were safe to move forward on the project just like I did. Yet instead of being transparent about how this situation even started, you’ve focused only on saving face.
I’ll never work with Mainstreet Apopka again. The fact that this happened on a city level shows the true colors of those involved. I’m disappointed in how this whole situation has been handled from start to finish.”
– Ridge Bonnick
We’ve reached out to both Apopka Main Street and Jenna Brownlee for comment and have not heard back at the time of this post.
