Hrag Vartanian

Richard Lacayo chats with Jill Medvedow, the director of Boston's Institute of Contemporary Arts, about teh Fairey controversy:

LACAYO: Did you have any inkling that the police were going to show up to arrest Fairey just as he was about to arrive at the opening night party?

MEDVEDOW: No. He had been in Boston for days. He had given a public lecture that was well publicized. He had been with the mayor to unveil a mural that we organized for the side of City Hall. There were pictures of him in the papers shaking hands with the mayor. Shepard could have been easily found by the police before that night. The arrest was a highly choreographed event for maximum drama.

Though excuse me while I hurl when Medvedow brings up the "Who gets to decide what is a work of art?" argument.

"My lawyers filed my response to The AP’s claims against me on Tuesday. It includes a dozen examples of AP photographs that consist almost entirely of copyrighted artwork from me and other artists…"

"Artists on Tuesday began repainting the largest remaining section of Berlin Wall with the murals they created after the fall of the hated symbol of the Cold War almost 20 years ago."

This has been going on for a while but I guess it's getting press now because the issue of public space is being debated more and more. IMHO the laws need to change to allow for more street art and define public space and who has a right to use it in a clear way…private space is another story and those laws will be more difficult to grapple with. (via Lois Stavky's FB page)