Street Art Kicked to the Curb

17 November 2011

click to enlarge

The Los Angeles Art Show presented Vox Humana a live art performance by legendary Los Angeles street artists Mear One, Kofie, Retna, and El Mac in January 2010.

(Vox Humana)

Art has been allegedly trashed from a special installation in Los Angeles. AEG, or Anschutz Entertainment Group, stands accused of junking the artwork of renowned street artists Mear One, Chor Boogie and Shark Toof.

Curator for the L.A. Art Machine, Bryson Strauss, recruited the three artists, as well as Shepard Fairey, to provide artwork for an AEG promotional event that took place at the L.A Live hotel and condo last January, in conjunction with the L.A Art Show.

Fairey’s work sold for $48,000 and was removed shortly after the event. However, it is alleged that AEG’s condo sales director asked that the other artists allow their artwork to remain at the Ritz-Carlton, in an effort to attract affluent clientele to the luxury residences. The artists agreed and arrangements were made by Strauss to have the artwork appropriately de-installed under the supervision of L.A. Art Machine at a later date.

At some point the large scale paintings, valued at $100,000, were thrown out before they could be retrieved, an AEG executive reportedly having said, “…They can have only ended up in the dumpster.” The artists and L.A. Art Machine will seek damages under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act and California’s Art Preservation Act.

(Report: Christine Bolli)

Read more at CBS

More News Feed Headlines

Julien Hudson, 1811-1844 American. Creole Boy With A Moth, 1835, oil on canvas, courtesy of a private collection; photo courtesy of Fodera Fine Art Conservation, Ltd.

First Retrospective of Early African American Artist Julien Hudson at Worcester Art Museum

A groundbreaking exhibition opened Dec. 9 at the Worcester Art Museum entitled “In Search of Julien Hudson: Free Artist of Color in Pre-Civil War New Orleans.” Julien Hudson (1811-1844) is the second-earliest documented portrait painter of African descent to work in the United States. Little-known today, Hudson died an untimely, somewhat mysterious death, and only fragments of his oeuvre survive to tell his story.

'May,' by Alexander Motyl, $25/month to rent ($550 to buy), artsicle.com.

Virtual Art Buying Gets a Boost From New Websites

A bevy of new online ventures are helping to streamline the process of buying art for both beginners and established collectors, facilitating keyboard-click access to information and galleries.

An installation view of the new Tuscaloosa Museum of Art: Home of the Westervelt Collection.

New Tuscaloosa Museum of Art to Showcase Important American Art

Last week, the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art opened its doors, finally giving a home to the art collection assembled by Jack Warner. Earlier this year, the Jack Warner Foundation and Westervelt Company separated, leaving the fate undetermined as to where their respective collections would be housed. Several key works were sold by the Westervelt Co. at auction and privately. Now, more than 800 pieces...

Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior, painted about 1666, by Eglon van der Neer (Dutch, 1634–1703). Oil on panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Seth K. Sweetser Fund.

Museum Curator as Art Detective

At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Victoria Reed is the first and only endowed curator of provenance at an American museum. Since 2010, her role has been to research objects in the museum's collections, and new acquisitions, in order to determine the right of ownership. At times, Reed's findings have led to restitution...