When Dylan's show opened at the Gagosian Gallery in Manhattan last month, the 18 oil paintings were billed as a visual journal of his travels in Asia. In its catalogue, the singer claimed: "I paint mostly from real life."
It has since emerged, however, that at least half of the works are copied from the internet. Six of them came from Oeschle's Flickr account, which contains antique photos of Japan which he collected during 30 years as a resident of Okinawa. "Why didn't he just credit the source?" said Oeschle.
"That would be the civil thing to do: give credit, say thanks, and acknowledge where the idea came from. If someone made a record that copied Dylan's music, he'd hit the roof."
The musician also claimed the art represented fictitious locations.
A Dylan painting called Shanghai was based on a photo taken in Guangzhou. One called Mae Ling, a Chinese name, was cribbed from a shot of the Ainu, an indigenous people from Japan.
Dylan did not breach copyright since the antique images from Oeschle's Flickr are too old to be protected by proprietary laws.
His failure to own up to their provenance is a flagrant breach of Flickr etiquette, says Oeschle.
"It's sad, because I'm a fan of Dylan." But, he adds: "I guess you could say the times, they are a-plagia-rising."
- INDEPENDENT