Sculptor Threatens Government With Lawsuit

First, the federal government fails to obtain the copyright to Frank Gaylord’s Korean War Veterans Memorial, and now Washington State decides to alter the form and aesthetic effects of a World War II Memorial.

Olympia artist Simon Kogan has been in a 2-year dispute with Washington State’s Department of General Administration. According to Kogan, overaggressive cleaning in May 2007 damaged his World War Two Memorial on the Capitol campus and robbed it of its most powerful feature.

Kogan maintains the powerwashing damaged the blades, wheat field and tiles. He said the cleaning destroyed the patina that gave color, form and contrast to the “ghosts” that framed the etched names on the blades. Kogan used chemicals to create this effect as an “invitation from faraway” for passers-by. He explained approaching visitors would then see and touch the names, establishing a connection between the living and war dead.

He has demanded that the state agency fix the damage or he will sue the state agency in federal court for violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act, breach of contract and copyright infringement.

More from The Olympian here.