Rethinking Artists' Moral Rights in The Age of Social Media

Rethinking Artists' Moral Rights in The Age of Social Media

In 2013, a group or 21 graffiti artists sued a developer, Jerry Wolkoff, in New York City arguing that their work that adorned Wolkoff's building which was subsequently demolished was "work of stature" protected by the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). VARA protects the "moral rights" of visual artists, and one way of protecting artists is by preventing destruction of a work.

In 2002, Wolkoff hired an artist by the name of Jonathan Cohen to convert the dilapidated building into an exhibition. In 2013, Wolkoff planned to demolish the building to make way for luxury buildings. Cohen learned of Wolkoff's plan and a legal battle ensued. A few months later, Wolkoff hired workers to whitewash the graffiti before he received permits to demolish the building.

In 2018, the artists were awarded $6.75 million dollars, $150,000 for each of the 45 works that were destroyed along with the building. On appeal by Wolkoff, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the monetary awards, and stated that temporary artworks can nonetheless have "recognized stature" under VARA.

by Arya Mansour, Associate Attorney & Wil Rios, Law Clerk (Spring 2020)