Artist Alleges Univ of Missouri Distorted and Mutilated His Work

January 25th, 2011 by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento

Yes, you guessed right. Another VARA case down under. Down south that is.

Artist Paul Jackson has sued the University of Missouri alleging the university violated his moral rights under the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act when the university failed to protect, secure, and keep the glass-tiled “Tiger Spot” mosaic from being damaged. “This lawsuit, though regrettable, is necessary,” Jackson told the Columbia Daily Tribune in an e-mail. “I have tried for years in good faith to negotiate a solution with MU administrators, to no avail. MU’s previous offers to move the mosaic or have me sign my rights away ranged from insulting to ridiculous.” Jackson is asking for the university to resume repair efforts and for damages in excess of $75,000.

Posted in Copyright, Feature, Moral Rights | 4 comments

Previous post:
Next post:

  1. Sam Blain:

    January 26th, 2011 at 9:45 am

    A number of comments are coming in on this and are posted following the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune article. Looks as though the artist has made quite a few people in Columbia angry before this case. Did the Univ. of Mo. use this mosaic/image in any publicity materials? Will the fact extreme Missouri weather conditions played a large role in the mosaic’s present condition? Did the U. of Mo. actually refuse to repair it? This case is going to be one big mess for the university. I think it’s going to be a bigger mess for the artist, in the long run.

  2. Tweets that mention Artist Alleges Univ of Missouri Distorted and Mutilated His Work « Clancco -- Topsy.com:

    January 26th, 2011 at 10:07 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Clancco: Art and Law, raquelvasquez and Clancco: Art and Law, Kate Sutherland. Kate Sutherland said: Artist Alleges Univ of Missouri Distorted and Mutilated His Work | @Clancco_ArtLaw http://ow.ly/3KqY6 […]

  3. Tiger Spot:

    January 28th, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    It may be helpful to know that the University of Missouri owns one of the two newspapers in Columbia MO, and the has the largest journalism school west of the Mississippi.

    The University has spread misinformation through their newspaper and information bureau about this project from early in its creation, poisoning the water for the artist.

    Reading the commentary following the articles will only give you an idea on how bad public opinion has been shaped by this misinformation. Those that have commented know nothing about the project that wasn’t spoon fed to them by the University.

  4. Law and art intersect at MU « Katie Dohse:

    February 11th, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    […] saw this post about a week or so ago on one of my favorite art law blogs, and I was so surprised to see that the […]