Mick Hartley

Street art and graffiti round Hackney Wick:

While acknowledging that none of this has the iconic status, let alone the street art credibility, of Queens' now-demolished 5Pointz, I wonder if any of the artists here would expect huge payouts if these buildings or walls were knocked down.

For those unfamiliar with the latest development in the 5Pointz saga….

A New York judge has awarded $6.7m to graffiti artists who sued after their work was destroyed on buildings torn down to make room for luxury apartments in Queens.

The federal judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn noted Monday there was no remorse from the owner of the warehouse buildings.

Twenty-one aerosol artists had sued the owner of a site in Long Island City known as 5Pointz. Their graffiti was ruined with a surprise overnight whitewash of the building on the orders of the owner in 2013, and the buildings were torn down a year later.

5Pointz, a former factory owned by Wolkoff, was a haven for graffiti artists from around the world and became a prominent tourist attraction. Wolkoff had given the artists permission to use the building as a canvas for “aerosol art” and the building was covered in multicolored murals and tags.

But in 2013, when Wolkoff decided to demolish the building and replace it with apartments, he whitewashed the graffiti art in the dead of night.

On Wednesday the jury decided that the artists’ work was legally protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act (Vara), and that meant that Wolkoff had broken the law. It was the first time graffiti, or “aerosol art” had been given that protection under federal law, potentially meaning thousands of graffiti murals across the country could now be preserved.

“It confirms that aerosol art is the same as any other fine artist,” said Eric Baum, the lawyer who represented the 21 artists who sued Wolkoff.

“And that the artist deserves dignity and respect.”

[Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images]

Which is all very nice, but, as Leila Amineddoleh points out, this is going to mean that property owners are from now on much more likely to refuse street artists the right to use their property. Really, why be accommodating if this is the thanks you get?

It's worth noting, mind, that if the owner here had been less crass, and instead of sneakily whitewashing over the art overnight had given the artists a 90-day notice of destruction, so that they could in theory remove the works, he'd have spared himself all the aggravation, and the cost. Though how street artists are meant to remove their work without destroying the building isn't at all clear. That, however, under US law, is how it stands.

But – putting aside any arguments as to the artistic merit of the art itself – surely a defining feature of street art is its very ephemerality. The unspoken understanding between the artists and the property owner, when he initially gave his permission, must have been that this would be a temporary arrangement which would at some point come to an end – at the property owner's discretion. Isn't that always the case? If that now no longer holds, then street art could find itself in big trouble. If it starts taking itself too seriously, might it not destroy what makes it distinctive?

Much of the subversive power and alternative feel to the whole street art and graffiti culture has been based on the premise that, unlike museum art, it comes and goes. Indeed with the rivalry between the various crews, most street artists will be used to their work being sprayed over in a matter of weeks or, at best, months. The fact that there's no monetary value attached is what gives the work its vitality, and its integrity. Put it up, take a photo – and then it's gone. 

Of course street artists have been moving into the mainstream for a while now. Banksy's stuff fetches big money, much as he may affect to despise that whole side of things. Some street artists have moved into galleries. This 5Pointz business is the latest, most dramatic, sign of street art going legit and chasing the big money….and, in the process, losing its soul.

With the increased hostility from property owners that will inevitably result from the 5Pointz story, and the professionalisation of an art form whose whole history and culture has been all about amateurism and a spirit of rebellion, one thing is certain: for graffiti artists, the writing's on the wall.