SCP Foundation To Remove The Iconic SCP-173 Image

The very first SCP entity from which it all started, SCP-173 is about to lose a part of its identity as the creative writing wiki SCP Foundation has announced that the famous image illustrating the entry will soon be removed from the site.

On Tuesday, the SCP Foundation tweeted that the entry for SCP-173, the very first SCP entity there is, will no longer be illustrated by the iconic image of a tall humanoid creature with green eyes and red-and-black spots on its face.

SCP-173's image will, unfortunately, be removed soon.

A short thread on why. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/YS7uZQkmdA

— The SCP Foundation (@scpwiki) February 1, 2022

Although mostly associated with the SCP Foundation universe, the image is actually a photograph of the art piece Untitled 2004 by Japanese artist Izumi Kato. As Kato became aware that the image is being used by the wiki, the SCP Foundation and the artist reached an agreement that the image would be allowed to be used by the wiki as long as it wasn't used for commercial purposes. While the SCP Foundation is legally licensed under CC-BY SA 3.0 (which means that anyone is free to make any kind of content about SCP as long as they provide credit) SCP-173 remained the only exception — until now.

On Sunday, SCP Wiki Staff began a discussion on possibly removing the image, making the official announcement two days later.

Additionally, Kato's work was designed with its own meaning and artistic vision in mind, which was forcefully hijacked by SCP-173. While we cannot fully undo the damage done, we have a moral and legal obligation to at least try separating SCP from Kato's work. pic.twitter.com/0lT17EVkUz

— The SCP Foundation (@scpwiki) February 1, 2022

The SCP Foundation reiterated that Izumi Kato has not forced them to remove the image and that the decision was made proactively out of legal and moral obligation.

To be clear: Kato has not demanded we take down the art. However we believe it is necessary in the spirit of @creativecommons, open collaboration, and artistic integrity to remove the image. We thank Kato tremendously for putting up with the Wiki and the burden we thrust on him.

— The SCP Foundation (@scpwiki) February 1, 2022

While normally SCP staff would choose a replacement image, SCP-173 will not be receiving one per request of Moto42, the author of SCP-173.

This is to allow everyone to envision SCP-173 for themselves, instead of there being a singular, definitive, official "SCP-173". Although the status of adding a replacement will be voted upon as well, it is likely that SCP-173 will remain without an image.

The SCP Foundation announced an event for artists wishing to submit their interpretations of SCP-173, which will be followed by the creation of an art collaboration page for the entity.

ATTENTION ALL ARTISTS

Anticipating the removal of SCP-173's image, the following is proposed: A collaborative art page containing several talented artists' interpretations of SCP-173, releasing concurrently with the original image's removal.

If you are interested, please PM me.

— Elenee FishTruck (@John_Hohn_Swohn) January 31, 2022

The current SCP-173 illustration will be removed from the site on February 13th, 2022.