Right to Copy in Arts?

Last week I as was in the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. At the second floor of the museum I stumbled upon a painting from Ilya Bolotowsky, which was called ‘Spiral Movement’ (1951). It was the only painting in the museum that was hung dioganally. I, as a proud Dutchman, thought imediatly “But isn’t  Victory Boogie Woogie from Mondriaan that was made in 1942?!? This is a really bad forgery!”. The text board on the side explained that it was only inspired by Mondriaan…

 

The question that I have since then is the everlasting question “What is art?”. The MFA is a worldfamous museum, so if they exhibit this piece there, it must be art. Or is that too easily said? Why do I actually dislike a painting that is a simular to the original one? Why do I suddenly have nationalistic feelings? And what will become of  Art if we build machines that can really copy paintings and make identical pairs? I’m getting into a the copyright or right to copy discussion while being in a museum looking at 50 year old art… I think it is more about feelings that ratio, because I can’t think of a good explanation why somebody else wouldn’t have the right to copy this blog right now, except that they would hurt my feelings in a terrible way…