Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2016, Side 29

29The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 16 — 2016
it looked like Caroline was going to
apologize, but it quickly became
clear Caroline wanted to say this
was all a big coincidence. “Instead
of just coming forward and saying
‘oh, I’m sorry’ or ‘I just found these
images interesting and in my style
so I copied them,’ she just claimed
online that I had stolen them from
her,” says Inga María.
With nothing else to do, Inga
María made a post about the situ-
ation on Facebook. The comments
section blew up. People for Caro-
line. People for Inga María. Caro-
line called Inga María “a witch”
and claimed Inga María had stolen
the art from her.
That’s when the emails started.
The Emails
On Thursday, March 26, 2015
To: Caroline Vitelli <info@car-
olinevitelli.com> (The website
has been taken down)
Really? What the fuck are you
doing?
You don’t know how I can look
myself in the mirror?
Those drawings are mine and
I know you know it.
Can you please stop post-
ing bad things about Harpa
and me on the internet. I have
only talked great about you,
but I dislike this stealing
of yours. This was my first
piece…
And what the fuck is this
about making me out to be a
witch, stealing your work?
What is wrong with you?
I hope you get your shit
together. This is just crazy.
Inga
To: Inga María Brynjarsdóttir,
<ingaxxx@xxxxx.com>
Never said you were a witch.
Oh no.
And i did just defend my-
self. You are making my life a
living hell. Ingimar and other
friends showed me what you did
post on fb. and no, it wasn’t
kind at all and very offen-
sive.
We could have arranged
that, i thought it was ok after
our first exchange. But you
did put my name + pictures and
call me a thief. And wtf ? they
are MY drawings, ffs!!!!! and
no need to contact my friends
about it. They know the truth.
Old Hag Darby told me imme-
diately. Having my dear Harpa
and all icelandic folks on
your side isn't enough?
Destroying all my hopes
and dream to move there isn't
enough? having me deleted them
for you isn't enough? this is
just going to far. stop it.
Keep those drawing, don't
mention me again nevermore. I
am gonna send mine to you as i
said before, even if you don't
want them, so you can do what-
ever you want with them. stop
making a drama and ruining my
life,please. I beg you
I did actually try my best
to arrange everything on your
behalf until today.
I wish i could have known
you before. i wish you did not
went so far.
I am so hurted
The next morning Caroline sent
Inga María an email stating she
was thinking about killing herself.
Inga María decided to respond and
sent her emails a few times with
this being the final email:
To: Caroline Vitelli, <info@
carolinevitelli.com>
Caroline
This is crazy, everything is
dramatised to the extremes.
We share similar stories,
but apparently we work through
them in a different way I smile
through my troubles, you do
not...
It’s fucked up that you would
want to kill yourself because
of this, why would you do that?
You claim that my drawings are
yours... why would you kill
yourself? it ś just stupid...
I have no bad feeling to-
wards you, get yourself to-
gether, feel free to contact me
in a good way and stop feeling
so bad about yourself.
I feel what you have been
through, but it matters how you
work it out.
I went through the same shit
but i am not making people feel
sorry for me because of it -
why should you do that? - I
feel your pain, but I do not
want to put that pain on other
people....
and i dislike this shit we
are making...
love to you...
Inga María
Caroline Vitelli’s Sister
Soon after the email exchange,
Caroline took down her email
and website. Nothing really got
settled. Inga María talked to a few
organizations in Iceland that help
artists with copyright, but hir-
ing a lawyer was too far out of her
budget. Then she got a friend re-
quest on Facebook, from a person
claiming to be Stephanie Vitelli.
“At first I didn’t answer, you
know? Because her last name was
Vitelli,” says Inga María. “Her
cover photo on her account said
something like ‘Those who steal…
lalala,’ basically directed right at
me. Stephanie started messaging
me and telling me that Caroline
was in the hospital, that she was
dying because of what I was do-
ing to her. I was confused. I hadn’t
done anything. I made a Facebook
post and inquired to a few places
about copyright. I didn’t even say
anything bad about her.”
Confused, but still compassion-
ate, Inga María asked Stephanie
how she could help. What hospital
was Caroline staying in and should
Inga María contact Caroline’s
friends in Seyðisfjörður? They
should be there to support her.
“I offered to contact Caroline’s
friends. I told Stephanie I have
no grudge against Caroline and
really hope she feels better,” says
Inga María. “Stephanie just said,
‘No! Don’t contact anyone! She
needs her peace and quiet. She’s
dying.’
“I saw some holes in this story,
so I asked Stephanie what hospital
Caroline was in, but she wouldn’t
tell me. She was afraid I would hack
into the computers at the hospital.
Apparently, according to Stepha-
nie, all of Caroline’s computers
had been hacked. I told Stephanie
if Caroline was at a hospital that
information was public and I could
just look it up. Stephanie told me
Caroline was in a private psychi-
atric hospital, closed to the public,
and she was dying.”
The End? Reconcilia-
tion And Moving On
Things died down for a couple
weeks. Inga María received an email
from one of Caroline’s friends,
someone who had bought one of
Caroline’s prints, and asked Inga
María who the authentic artist was.
“I told her the truth. It’s my
work,” says Inga María. “This friend
of Caroline’s had bought a piece at
an exhibition and wanted to know
the truth, so I told her. Apparently,
Caroline had told her I had already
apologized for falsely claiming that
she stole from me.”
Inga María doesn’t hold a grudge
against Caroline—even though
nothing has been settled between
them. During the entire interview,
Inga María kept reminding me she
didn’t want Caroline to be insulted
or ridiculed. “I don’t want to hurt
her,” says Inga María for the count-
less time. “I just wish we could have
gotten past it and worked on some-
thing together.
“In art school, they taught us
we could grab inspiration from
anywhere, from anyone. You just
had to make it your own. You don’t
copy something and then print it
and sell it to make money. When
I sell a piece or a select number
of prints, that’s it. I don’t keep
reprinting. That’s disrespecting
the buyer. I mean, sure, I could get
desperate and want to do this, but
people can buy my stuff online off
someone else already,” says Inga
María with a laugh that signals the
end of the story.
We’re out of beer anyway.
“The Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll is as
eccentric in its telling as the tale it celebrates.”
David Fricke, Rolling Stone.
The museum is located in Keflavík
only 5 minutes away from
Keflavík International Airport.
Open daily from 11am - 6pm

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