The collaborative project of Kanye West and Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts, performed live for the first time at the Camp Flog Gnog Carnival Sunday night in Los Angeles and the set design during the performance had someone feeling a little Deja-vu. The New Zealand singer, Lorde took to her Instagram page this morning accusing the project of stealing her design, this according to Pitchfork.
In her Instagram story, Lorde shared some photos along with a statement; “I’m proud of the work I do, and it’s flattering when other artists feel inspired by it, to the extent that they choose to try it on themselves.” She then added, “But don’t steal—not from women or anyone else—not in 2018 or ever.”
During the performance by Kids See Ghosts, the two did their set from inside a transparent box hanging above the stage. According to Lorde in her series of Instagram posts, she expressed how the performance was similar to her set at Coachella back in 2017.
It wasn’t long until the set designer herself, Es Devlin, who has worked with West before on sets for the Yeezus and Watch the Throne tours and worked with Lorde on her Coachella set, responded back through her social media pages.the inspiration behind her design which was the English National Opera performing “Carmen” by Georges Bizet in 2007 noting;
“The idea of a floating glass box, of course, is not in any way new and the geometry precedes all of us,” Devlin shared in an updated Instagram post Tuesday. “The form finds another layer of resonance in each new context.” She added, “I did not design the recent Kids See Ghosts performance: I worked with Lorde on the design for her Coachella performance: I admire both and see no imitation at work here…”
This isn’t the first time, an artist accused West of stealing their work. Trent Reznor, the frontman of Nine Inch Nails accused West along with The Weekend of mimicking their stage production during live shows.
They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” but sometimes it is best to stay true and be original.
Photo credit: Sharon Alagna
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