Artist on new UP sculpture: No plagiarism

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipino artist behind the floating “female Oblation” sculpture inside the University of the Philippines Diliman has denied allegations that he copied the idea from a public art installation in the Netherlands, but the Dutch sculptress believes it is plagiarism.

Ferdinand Cacnio, the artist who created the sculpture UPLift, said he has never heard of Dutch artist Elisabet Stienstra before comparisons of their works circulated online. 

“I don’t know her. We’ve never been to the Netherlands. I was not inspired by her, I did not model my work after her,” Cacnio wrote in a Facebook post. 

“I am not guilty of plagiarizing or copying her work, Virgins of Apeldoorn,” he added, referring to Stienstra’s installation. 

But Thom Puckey, the husband of Stienstra, said his wife believes that Cacnio plagiarized her work. He released a statement via Facebook yesterday after news about the issue reached the Dutch sculptress.

“Hello. I’m Elisabet Stienstra’s husband. Elisabet doesn’t do Facebook herself. She would like it to be known however that she sees Mr. Cacnio’s sculpture as plagiarism,” Puckey said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“The principle of her work (made in 2001) is to use sculptural conventions to suggest weightlessness. Mr. Cacnio’s sculpture does not only imitate her idea in general terms, but also in specific terms: the long hanging hair, the falling-back head, the outstretched arms, the outstretched body. The similarities are too evident to be coincidental. Plagiarism is still plagiarism even if a few details have been altered,” he added.

Installed at a park in the Netherlands in 2001, the Virgins of Apeldoorn features three bronze sculptures of a woman lying on her back that appear to be floating.

The sculptures are supported by the hair of the subject, as well as the “piece of cloth” covering the lower part of their bodies. 

One of the sculptures, which shows the subject lying on her back with her hands outstretched, appears similar to the one created by Cacnio. 

Unlike the bronze sculptures, however, Cacnio’s work – which has a gold finish – is only supported by the subject’s hair. 

In a post two years ago, Cacnio’s daughter Bianca said a table-top version of the sculpture was her father’s entry to an exhibit during the centennial anniversary of UP in 2008. 

The exhibit featured artworks from different artists who came up with pieces inspired by the iconic Oblation. 

The larger version is the donation UP Batch 1985, to which Cacnio belongs. 

Citing her father, the younger Cacnio said UPLift symbolizes enlightenment as depicted by the subject’s suspension in the air. 

 “She’s levitating, and uplifted. She’s rising towards the heaven, to honor and excellence, naked, as we all are, in the eyes of God,” she wrote in a Facebook post. 

“Her hair being the stand is the way he found to show this effect. They are rooted to the ground, to our country, symbolizing our roots as well,” it added.