For Katherine Craig, the mural is more than a marker of North End’s rising status. The so-called “bleeding rainbow” mural is a cornerstone of her career. And now, since the building’s owner aims to sell or redevelop the property, the artist is taking legal action to protect her work. [...]
The federal suit seeks an injunction that would bar the developer from destroying or otherwise altering The Illuminated Mural [...].
— citylab.com
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5 Comments
This is interesting. It's likely that Craig got permission to paint the mural because the previous owners thought that the building was likely to be demolished - apparently they were sitting on it, waiting for property values to rise. It is a really nice mural, but it seems likely that protecting it will only make it harder for other artists to get permission to paint walls, as the article says.
The building looks pretty good to me and I hope that the developer doesn't plan to demolish it. In regard to the mural, however, I think that the addition of some windows on that wall, with the mural becoming part of the building's history, not its sole purpose, would only make it more interesting. Maintaining the building simply so that it can function as a canvas doesn't make a whole lot of sense, financially or ethically.
I know that building, the only reason why I know it is because of the mural, which makes it a bit of a landmark. I think they would be stupid to remove it, or cause substantial damage to the mural, and obviously tearing down the building given the context is a bit of a shame. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Ownership is the question here. Unless she own the work she has no claim. If she sold the work - or gave it away! - she has no control over what the rightful owner does with it.
17 U.S. Code § 106A - Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity
This is copyright law and does not apply. It's simply a PR stunt
Good evening professor. Interesting artcle I am familiar with the building and the neighborhood. I would like to know what the outcome is for this building.
I smell a tragic fire in the near future
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