Pryor Cashman Partner Megan Noh, co-chair of the Art Law Group and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Practice, published an article in The Brooklyn Rail about the limitations on available protections for site-specific art, and whether current law effectively prioritizes the importance of public art for community identity and expression.
In "Public Art as Political Bargaining Chip: When Site-Specificity is Both Potent and Powerless," Megan writes:
Throughout history, art has played a critical role in expressing community sentiment and galvanizing political action. This is particularly true for public art, which by its very nature can become an integral part of its site's cultural fabric, while simultaneously drawing broader attention to its message. A recently-settled legal dispute ... highlights the opposing potential of cultural initiatives to be used for political horse-trading, and the inadequacy of currently-available legal protections for site-specific installations.
She looks at a legal battle in NYC over artworks by Kit-Yin Snyder and Richard Haas for the Manhattan Detention Complex. The dispute arose under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) and addressed whether that statute protected Snyder and Hass' installations in lower Manhattan from removal and/or destruction as a result of construction of new facilities as part of the Borough-Based Jails Program.
The article is illustrated by an image of Susan Chen's Stop the Mega Jail, © Susan Chen, 2022, courtesy of the artist.
Read the full article using the link below.
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