The Chicago Tribune reports:

Anish Kapoor — the Indian-born, British sculptor responsible for the work colloquially known as The Bean — said the 2017 ad titled “The Clenched Fist of Truth” and starring NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch used footage of the sculpture without his consent “by the NRA to promote their vile message.”

The sculpture was used as a stand-in for former President Barack Obama in the ad, which was widely criticized at the time of its release in April. The ad paints a nightmarish vision of modern city life and states that “the only way to save our country, the only way to fight this violence of lies is with the clenched fist of truth.”

In a statement issued by a New York gallery that represents him, Kapoor also said that his sculpture and other works of iconic modern architecture were used by the NRA in the ad to represent a hidden and threatening “other,” or a version of “Liberal America” against which NRA members need to arm themselves....

Here's “The Clenched Fist of Truth” — which I'd never have noticed without Kapoor's complaint:



I was going to say Streisand effect, but I don't think Kapoor's speaking out hurts the very interest he is trying to promote. He's getting a platform for expressing his anti-NRA beliefs, and he's calling attention to his artwork, which appears in so much photography that he can't possibly control. You can't dominate a public square with a stationary piece of personal expression and then limit the speech of everyone who uses the square. You can only keep talking, contributing more speech, and that's what Kapoor is doing.

Like the Statue of Liberty in NYC, the "bean" — officially, "Cloud Gate" — irretrievably merges with popular culture:

The sculpture has been used as a backdrop in commercial films, notably in the 2006 Hollywood film The Break-Up...  the ending scene of Source Code...  The Vow when the lead characters share a kiss under it. It also appears in the video to "Homecoming", a song by Chicago native Kanye West...  The sculpture is also featured in the 2008 mumblecore film Nights and Weekends. It was also featured in the Bollywood film Dhoom 3 and the 2014 movie, Transformers: Age of Extinction...  A modified reproduction of Cloud Gate is also included in Watch Dogs....

There is a copyright issue here, but I'm not going to explain it.

ADDED: When you're pushing a minimal version of the Second Amendment, you're helping the other side if you simultaneously push a minimal version of the First Amendment. The NRA (in that very video) warns that our freedom is at stake. Don't threaten non-gun freedoms or you enhance the NRA's message! And that advice applies even though — or especially because — Kapoor is not an American.