Banksy Mural Threatened With Destruction Moved
Banksy Mural, Detroit, MI
A famous and rare Banksy mural, originally housed in the derelict Packard Plant in Detroit and later moved to a nonprofit gallery without the artist’s knowledge, has been taken off view after the gallery received numerous phone and e-mail threats that it might be defaced or destroyed. The 7-foot-by-8 foot work, a painting of a boy with a can of red paint next to the words “I remember when all this was trees,” is attached to a 1,500-pound cinder-block wall.
Publicity stunt? Via Freep.com.
Tags: Art Law, graffiti, Moral Rights, muralism, public art, visual artists rights act
[…] just an article titled “Banksy Mural Threatened With Destruction Moved” off of Clancco, an art law and news blog. Though short, the title conveys the sentiment behind the […]
I think this is an increasingly pressing issue that should be addressed from a moral point of view. Street art, by nature, is supposed to be ephemeral and fleeting. The struggle to preserve it sometimes, as it does here, is counter-acts the work itself, which is about impermanence and change. The threats point out an interesting paradox, that to an institution bent on preservation, defacing is a violation. For art in the street, it’s an organic part of their life cycle.
I think that institutions need to be more sensitive to the rhythm of street art and graffiti before they feel the impulsive ethical need to preserve it.
I’m glad to see this mentioned here.