Ascalon VARA Case Settles

Who said moral rights cases don’t have happy endings?

Remember last year’s Visual Artists Rights Case, David Ascalon v. The Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg? If you don’t, here’s a quick recap.

In July 2010, the New Jersey artist David Ascalon filed an action in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania asserting that his rights under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) had been violated with respect to a sculpture he created for the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg: a Holocaust Memorial on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania’s state capital, which was installed in 1994.  The complaint alleged that Ascalon’s rights under VARA, which limits how an artwork may be altered or disposed of, were violated by restoration of a decaying element of the original sculpture in which a rust-colored “barbed wire” serpentine element was replaced with stainless steel.

The case has come to a conclusion, as both parties have reached an amicable solution.

The substance of the settlement provides the sculpture will be retrofitted in a manner that upholds the artist’s original intent at minimal costs to the defendants.  The original artist shall be provided access to the sculpture to remake the “barbed wire” serpentine element in a highly durable rust-colored steel, and the original artist’s name shall be restored to the sculpture.

David Ascalon’s son, Eric Ascalon, had these words to say regarding the case and the settlement.

Under the terms of the settlement, I am happy to announce that my father’s sculpture will be restored in accordance with his original vision.  Although the case did not get to trail and therefore no legal precedent was established, I nevertheless believe that this positive outcome for artists’ rights.  VARA, here, ultimately did what it was intended to do without the need to got through a lengthy trial and appeals process.  As knowledge of VARA and cases like these become more widely disseminated, those who would otherwise violate the moral rights of an artist will give pause.

Congrats to both parties for the amicable settlement!