Projekt je naročila kriptoskupina $PATRIOT, ki je želela kip uporabiti kot del širše promocije svojih digitalnih žetonov in politično obarvane kampanje. Po prvotnih načrtih naj bi kip potoval po ZDA, kasneje pa bi ga namestili na vidni lokaciji, povezani z Donaldom Trumpom, kot je njegovo golfišče ali katera izmed političnih institucij, ki nosi njegovo ime, piše USA Today.

The bust portion of a 15-foot bronze statue of US President Donald Trump, coated in gold leaf, lies on its back in the studio of sculptor Alan Cottrill in Zanesville, Ohio on February 5, 2026. Lying on its back at an Ohio sculpture studio, the 15-foot tall (4.6 meter) gold-leafed statue of US President Donald Trump dubbed "Don Colossus" by its creators is, perhaps, not quite at its best. The massive bronze work, slated to stand two-storeys tall once installed on a 6,000-pound (2,720-kg) base, depicts a defiant Trump raising his fist in the moments after he survived an assassination attempt in July 2024. But the $360,000 statue, commissioned by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and backers of then-candidate Trump, has waited more than a year to be erected, partly because sculptor Alan Cottrill has yet to get paid.,Image: 1072712577, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: To go with AFP story by Eli HILLER and Asad HASHIM: "'Don Colossus': Golden Trump statue crippled by crypto pay dispute", Model Release: no

Kip je narejen po fotografiji trenutka, ko so med predsedniško kampanjo streljali na predsednika Trumpa. Foto: Profimedia

Naročniki so plačali del zneska za kip, ki znaša okoli 300.000 dolarjev, plus dodatki za pozlato, vendar naj bi se pojavil spor glede avtorskih pravic in načina, kako je kriptoskupina uporabila podobo kipa za promocijo svojih žetonov. Po besedah kiparja naj bi šlo za nepooblaščeno komercialno uporabo umetniškega dela, kar je sprožilo pravni in finančni konflikt.

Umetnik ne dovoljuje nepooblaščene komercialne 

uporabe umetniškega dela.

Zaradi tega Cottrill kipa ni predal naročnikom, temveč ga je premaknil na skrivno lokacijo v okrožju v Ohiu. Javnosti ni razkril, kje natančno je, kar dodatno povečuje zanimanje za projekt. Kip je dokončan, vključno z zlato obdelavo površine, vendar ostaja skrit do razrešitve spora.

US sculptor Alan Cottrill, 73, poses for a portrait in his studio in Zanesville, Ohio, on February 5, 2026. Lying on its back at an Ohio sculpture studio, the 15-foot tall (4.6 meter) gold-leafed statue of US President Donald Trump dubbed "Don Colossus" by its creators is, perhaps, not quite at its best. The massive bronze work, slated to stand two-storeys tall once installed on a 6,000-pound (2,720-kg) base, depicts a defiant Trump raising his fist in the moments after he survived an assassination attempt in July 2024. But the $360,000 statue, commissioned by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and backers of then-candidate Trump, has waited more than a year to be erected, partly because sculptor Alan Cottrill has yet to get paid.,Image: 1072712579, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: To go with AFP story by Eli HILLER and Asad HASHIM: "'Don Colossus': Golden Trump statue crippled by crypto pay dispute", Model Release: no

Kipar Alan Cottrill ne želi, da se kip uporablja v komercialne namene. Foto: Profimedia

Projekt je bil sprva zamišljen ambiciozno: kot potujoča umetniška instalacija, ki bi obiskala različne ameriške zvezne države, nato pa se zaključila z dolgoročno postavitvijo na prestižni lokaciji, celo v bližini političnih institucij ali Trumpovih zasebnih posesti. Vendar je spor med umetnikom in kriptonaročniki ustavil te načrte.

Kriptoskupina $PATRIOT se na očitke javno ni odzvala, kar je zgodbo še dodatno zavilo v negotovost. Umetnik pa je v medijih poudaril, da projekt zanj ni več le naročilo, temveč vprašanje spoštovanja avtorskih pravic in integritete njegovega dela.

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