{"id":5501,"date":"2018-02-14T12:18:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T16:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=5501"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:52:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:52:33","slug":"graffiti-gains-legitimacy-judge-awards-graffiti-artists-6-7m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/graffiti-gains-legitimacy-judge-awards-graffiti-artists-6-7m\/","title":{"rendered":"Graffiti Gains Legitimacy: Judge Awards Graffiti Artists $6.7M"},"content":{"rendered":"

5Pointz<\/a> complex in Long Island City, Queens, was a frequent site of photo shoots and music videos<\/a> as its walls were adorned with visual works of art since the 1990s\u2014back when the owner of the building agreed to allow graffiti artists work on the walls of the building. 5Pointz became not only a hotspot and an art exhibit for tourists, it \u201chelped transform<\/a> the neighborhood into a thriving residential enclave.
\nIn 2013, however, developer, Gerald Wolkoff, wanted to tear down the graffiti mecca and build luxury rentals. \u201cThe \u2018aerosol\u2019<\/a> artists . . . led by Jonathan Cohen . . . sued to prevent the destruction of their work.\u201d
\nThe judge denied<\/a> the graffiti artists\u2019 injunction, and Wolkoff proceeded, in 2014, to whitewash the walls and tear down the buildings to build luxury apartments, but there was still an opportunity for artists to pursue<\/a> monetary damages.
\nAfter the demolition, artists filed suit against Wolkoff alleging he violated the Visual Artists Rights Act (<\/a>VARA), which in turn entitles them to monetary damages. VARA was passed in 1990 to provide \u201cmoral<\/a> rights to artists behind qualifying works of visual art. Namely, it grants the rights to attribution and integrity. The right to integrity . . . provides artists with the ability to \u2018prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature<\/em>\u2019 even if owned by someone else . . ..\u201d
\nTo determine whether a work is \u201crecognized stature\u201d for purposes of VARA, a court \u201cmust consider both<\/em><\/a> whether the art \u2018was viewed as meritorious,\u201d and also whether art critics, experts, and other members of the art community considered that the art was \u2018recognized.\u2019\u201d However, experts suggest the determination is vague and broadly interpreted.
\nIn applying VARA, the court held that the statute provides monetary recourse for the destruction of the artists\u2019 visual works. The court, however, is unable to grant indefinite preservation of visual works protected under VARA.
\nIn the 100-page<\/a> decision, Judge Block awarded $150,000 for each of the 45 works, totaling a $6.75 million award. Judge Block wrote \u201cIf not for Wolkoff\u2019s insolence, these damages would not have been assessed. If he did not destroy 5Pointz until he received his permits and demolished it 10\u00a0months later, the Court would not have found that he had acted willfully. [. . .] Since 5Pointz was a prominent tourist attraction the\u00a0public would undoubtedly have thronged to say its goodbyes during those 10 months\u00a0and gaze at the formidable works of aerosol art for the last time. It would have been\u00a0a wonderful tribute for the artists that they richly deserved.\u201d
\nDespite the \u201cgaping hole in legislative protection of artists\u2019 rights\u201d\u2014specifically issues with monetizing destructed visual works and the inability to consider a work\u2019s ineffable cultural contribution, this landmark case is a victory to artists around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0court\u2019s decision is a victory not only for the artists in this case, but for artists all around the country . . .. Aerosol art has been recognized as a fine art. The clear message is that art protected by federal law must be cherished and not destroyed. Anyone who violates the law will be held accountable and punished for the destruction,\u201d 5Pointz attorney, Eric Baum.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens, was a frequent site of photo shoots and music videos as its walls were adorned with visual works of art since the 1990s\u2014back when the owner of the building agreed to allow graffiti artists work on the walls of the building. 5Pointz became not only a hotspot and …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6977,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5501\/revisions\/6977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}