Tweet
Graffiti Artists Awarded $6. 7 Million for Destroyed 5Pointz Murals
By ALAN FEUER FEB. 12, 2018
Ruling that graffiti — a typically transient form of art — was of sufficient stature to
be protected by the law, a federal judge in Brooklyn awarded a judgment of $6.7
million on Monday to 21 graffiti artists whose works were destroyed in 2013 at the
5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens.
In November, a landmark trial came to a close in Federal District Court in
Brooklyn when a civil jury decided that Jerry Wolkoff, a real estate developer who
owned 5Pointz, broke the law when he whitewashed dozens of swirling murals at the
complex, obliterating what a lawyer for the artists had called “the world’s largest
open-air aerosol museum.”
Though Mr. Wolkoff’s lawyers had argued that the buildings were his to treat as
he pleased, the jury found he violated the Visual Artists Rights Act, or V.A.R.A.,
which has been used to protect public art of “recognized stature” created on
someone’s else property.
In an odd legal twist, the judge at that trial, Frederic Block, altered the verdict at
the 11th hour to make it merely a recommendation. But on Monday, Judge Block
upheld the jury’s decision, and his ruling awarded the artists the maximum damages
possible, saying that 45 of the dozens of ruined murals had enough artistic stature to
merit being protected. The jury had found that only 36 of the works should be
guarded under V.A.R.A.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/n...-judgment.html
By ALAN FEUER FEB. 12, 2018
Ruling that graffiti — a typically transient form of art — was of sufficient stature to
be protected by the law, a federal judge in Brooklyn awarded a judgment of $6.7
million on Monday to 21 graffiti artists whose works were destroyed in 2013 at the
5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens.
In November, a landmark trial came to a close in Federal District Court in
Brooklyn when a civil jury decided that Jerry Wolkoff, a real estate developer who
owned 5Pointz, broke the law when he whitewashed dozens of swirling murals at the
complex, obliterating what a lawyer for the artists had called “the world’s largest
open-air aerosol museum.”
Though Mr. Wolkoff’s lawyers had argued that the buildings were his to treat as
he pleased, the jury found he violated the Visual Artists Rights Act, or V.A.R.A.,
which has been used to protect public art of “recognized stature” created on
someone’s else property.
In an odd legal twist, the judge at that trial, Frederic Block, altered the verdict at
the 11th hour to make it merely a recommendation. But on Monday, Judge Block
upheld the jury’s decision, and his ruling awarded the artists the maximum damages
possible, saying that 45 of the dozens of ruined murals had enough artistic stature to
merit being protected. The jury had found that only 36 of the works should be
guarded under V.A.R.A.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/n...-judgment.html
Comment