Insane: Building Owner Gets Shock Bill for Destroying "Artist's" Graffiti
A federal judge issued a patently insane judgment against Brooklyn real estate developer Jerry Wolkoff on Monday, ordering that he pay $6.75 million in damages to 21 so-called “artists” who had plastered his property with graffiti. But the real culprit behind this outrageous judgment wasn’t actually the judge.
It was a jury of locals who, according to The New York Times, decided three months ago that Wolkoff “broke the law when he whitewashed dozens of swirling murals” at the 5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens, which he owns.
“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,” the Times noted.
Passed in 1990, this law was designed to protect actual art such as “paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, still photographs produced for exhibition,” as noted by a guide sheet maintained by Harvard Law School.
But apparently, the jury in Wolkoff’s case decided to include graffiti as well in this definition. Though just to be clear, the artwork at 5Pointz complex was admittedly a bit more than just your standard graffiti.
The Washington Post described the artwork as “a graffiti mecca” that contained “colorful bubble letters, fantastical creatures, mesmerizing portraits and tributes to legendary musicians.”
“Aerosol artists would travel from around the world to use its walls as canvasses — legally. Busloads of tourists or students on field trips would frequent 5Pointz on a daily basis. It was used as a backdrop for movies and music videos, weddings and concerts,” the Post’s report continued.
All that changed in 2013, when Wolkoff, whose formerly cordial relationship with the tenants and graffiti creators had soured due to his desire to demolish the property, ordered a team to cover the murals with white paint.
A year later, the complex was torn down “to make way for high-rise luxury residences.”
Graffiti “artist” Akiko Miyakami, one of the 21 litigants in the case against Wolkoff, told the Post that when her work was removed, it felt as if she “was raped.”
That’s unfortunate and all, but Wolkoff owned the property, point blank period, and this idea that a man may not do what he wants with his own property is frightening, as noted by Jazz Shaw of Hot Air.
“Property laws are among some of the oldest in our legal code,” he noted in a piece Tuesday. “They are woven into the fundamental definition of capitalism.”
That said, Shaw predicted that there might be an appeal, though he warned that “(i)f this judgment stands, it’s going to be one more chunk chipped out of the wall of sanity in this country.”
Of course, the artists’ attorney, Eric Baum, disagrees.
Speaking with the Post, he called the ruling “a victory not only for the artists in this case, but for artists all around the country.”
“The clear message is that art protected by federal law must be cherished and not destroyed. With this win, the spirit of 5Pointz becomes a legacy for generations of artists to come,” he added.
Great…
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