Guggenheim Bilbao Censors “Offensive” Paul McCarthy and Mike Bouchet Public Artwork

Mural by Paul McCarthy and Mike Bouchet, on building in Bilbao, Spain.

According to Artnet, the Guggenheim Bilbao is forcing the removal of a provocative and controversial Paul McCarthy and Mike Bouchet 2,000 square foot mural installation on the side of a building in Bilbao.

The billboard is an extension of an exhibition the two artists are having at the Portikus in Frankfurt. Their collaboration at Portikus includes mostly drawings, as well as a few sculptures, that, according to a press release, depict museums as “self-serving mechanisms for their board members[.]”

Now get this, the Guggenheim is employing the strong arm of the law to allege that under Spanish law, the artists’ work infringes the Guggenheim’s copyright and trademark rights of the Frank Gehry building. The artists are, of course, retorting with fair use and have refused to comply with the Guggenheim’s demand.

But, all is not well.

Following the refusal of the artists to remove the mural, the owners of the building received a fax from the museum late today demanding removal of the installation and again asserting that the use of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao image was an infringement of its copyright. The building has granted the museum’s request, artnet News has learned, and the artists have since been informed by a building representative that the mural must be removed.

Interesting…stay tuned!

Via Artnet.