https://sputnikglobe.com/20210820/a-tale-of-two-mermaids-heirs-of-sculptor-behind-copenhagen-icon-want-her-cousin-destroyed-1083667038.html
A Tale of Two Mermaids: Heirs of Sculptor Behind Copenhagen Icon Want Her Cousin Destroyed
A Tale of Two Mermaids: Heirs of Sculptor Behind Copenhagen Icon Want Her Cousin Destroyed
Sputnik International
The author of the junior mermaid, which has become a tourist attraction in her own right, called the lawsuit absurd, suggesting that you can't have a patent on... 20.08.2021, Sputnik International
2021-08-20T06:56+0000
2021-08-20T06:56+0000
2021-08-20T06:56+0000
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The heirs of Edvard Eriksen, the sculptor who created Copenhagen's most iconic monument, The Little Mermaid, have demanded that its counterpart that adourns the Asaa waterside in northern Jutland be removed and destroyed.The new mermaid statue, titled “Towards homecoming”, was placed at Asaa harbour four years ago.While leaving locals and visitors delighted, the rival sculpture also sparked the ire of Edvard Eriksen's family, who complained to Asaa's mayor that their mermaid was far too similar to the one in Copenhagen, installed in 1913, and must be taken away.Palle Mørk, the creator of the junior mermaid, strongly denied having modelled his work on Copenhagen's chief attraction.When confronted by the suggestion that the two mermaids were sitting in a vary similar way, he rebutted: “Well, how the hell should a mermaid sit on a rock? She doesn’t have legs, only fins." “You cannot have a patent on mermaids”, he concluded.Copyright specialist Stina Teilmann-Lock of the Copenhagen Business School pointed out that Eriksen’s heirs have been particularly ardent in protecting their rights. Among others, Denmark's leading newspapers, such as Berlingske and Politiken, have been fined for using images of The Little Mermaid. At one point, they even demanded a licensing fee from the town of Greenville in Michigan which had built a mermaid statue to celebrate its Danish heritage.Eriksen's 1.25-metre and 175-kilogram bronze Little Mermaid is based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Despite its small size and unimposing nature, it has become a major tourist attraction and an iconic symbol of the city, on par with Manneken Pis in Brussels, the Statue of Liberty in New York and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement and by vandals and political activists alike.
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A Tale of Two Mermaids: Heirs of Sculptor Behind Copenhagen Icon Want Her Cousin Destroyed
The author of the junior mermaid, which has become a tourist attraction in her own right, called the lawsuit absurd, suggesting that you can't have a patent on mermaids.
The heirs of Edvard Eriksen, the sculptor who created Copenhagen's most iconic monument, The Little Mermaid, have demanded that its counterpart that adourns the Asaa waterside in northern Jutland be removed and destroyed.
The new mermaid statue, titled “Towards homecoming”, was placed at Asaa harbour four years ago.
While leaving locals and visitors delighted, the rival sculpture also sparked the ire of Edvard Eriksen's family, who complained to Asaa's mayor that their mermaid was far too similar to the one in Copenhagen, installed in 1913, and must be taken away.
“I must admit that I couldn't help but laugh a little when I received the inquiry. A cow is a cow, and a mermaid is a mermaid. One cannot patent an entire species of animal,” Asaa mayor Mikael Klitgaard told the Danish broadcaster TV2. “By the way, I don't think the two mermaids are similar at all. Ours is more plump and has a completely different face,” he added.
Palle Mørk, the creator of the junior mermaid, strongly denied having modelled his work on Copenhagen's chief attraction.
“I just didn’t do it, not by any means. It doesn’t look the same at all,” he complained. “My mermaid is made of granite and not bronze, and it is more than twice as big as the one in Copenhagen. Mine is also plumper, and the facial expression and hair are different.”
When confronted by the suggestion that the two mermaids were sitting in a vary similar way, he rebutted: “Well, how the hell should a mermaid sit on a rock? She doesn’t have legs, only fins." “You cannot have a patent on mermaids”, he concluded.
Copyright specialist Stina Teilmann-Lock of the Copenhagen Business School pointed out that Eriksen’s heirs have been particularly ardent in protecting their rights. Among others, Denmark's leading newspapers, such as Berlingske and Politiken, have been fined for using images of The Little Mermaid. At one point, they even demanded a licensing fee from the town of Greenville in Michigan which had built a mermaid statue to celebrate its Danish heritage.
Eriksen's 1.25-metre and 175-kilogram bronze Little Mermaid is based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Despite its small size and unimposing nature, it has become a major tourist attraction and an iconic symbol of the city, on par with Manneken Pis in Brussels, the Statue of Liberty in New York and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement and by vandals and
political activists alike.
