BC Law IPTF Blog

A Federal District Court in Springfield, Mass. has given Mass MoCA permission to display unfinished works of Christoph Buchel. The artist had tried to prevent the museum from going forward with the scheduled exhibition under the Visual Artists Rights Act. As today’s New York Times decribes: Michael Posner ruled that VARA, which protects an artist’s right to not be named as author of a work that has been modified, did not block display of unfinished works simply because they are unfinished. Later in the article, the artist indicates that the works had been modified after he had stopped cooperating with the museum.

Mass MoCA had been exhibiting the work under tarps to wide criticism. Many believe than an artist should ultimately have the last word on when a work is ready for display, and this certainly seems to be the thrust of VARA.

Buchel’s large work was undoubtedly an expensive installation and largely missing from the Times’ analysis is the power dynamic between museums and artists. Mass MoCA certainly relied on the exhibition going forward in their plans for the year. Museums attract new members based on forthcoming shows and development directors would be in a difficult place if too much uncertaintly attached to that schedule. Budgeting and selections for other exhibitions require a museum to trust that an artist will remain committed to the project.

It’s a shame that the parties couldn’t come to a workable solution. Although they can now display Buchel’s work, with a notice that it is unfinished, Mass MoCA gains little from the win beyond a reputation for not respecting the artists it chooses to display.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 at 8:38 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.