http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2006/06/05/centerpoints-20-2/ Outside Ideas from Inside the Walker Art Center Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:06:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2006/06/05/centerpoints-20-2/#comment-781 Off Center » Twitchell to sue for destruction of Ruscha mural Tue, 06 Jun 2006 20:33:45 +0000 http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2006/06/05/centerpoints-20-2/#comment-781 [...] ll no news on who authorized the destruction of Kent Twitchell’s The Ed Ruscha Monument in Los Angeles, but LA Times staff writer Christopher Knight reports that Twitchell plans on suing the city for violating the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act, which was enacted “to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature.” In 1986, Twitchell lost another mural to paint-wielding workers at a billboard company and sued under the California Art Preservation Act, a precursor to VARA; a $175,000 settlement was reached before the case went to trial. “The law can’t bring back his lost masterpiece, but maybe a judgment will temporarily jolt other indifferent oafs into paying attention,” muses Knight, who earlier described the importance of the Ruscha homage: By 1978, Ruscha’s stature was such that he was routinely identified as the quintessential L.A. artist. He actually was a Pop art giant, and Twitchell’s monumental mural represented him as one. [...] […] ll no news on who authorized the destruction of Kent Twitchell’s The Ed Ruscha Monument in Los Angeles, but LA Times staff writer Christopher Knight reports that Twitchell plans on suing the city for violating the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act, which was enacted “to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature.” In 1986, Twitchell lost another mural to paint-wielding workers at a billboard company and sued under the California Art Preservation Act, a precursor to VARA; a $175,000 settlement was reached before the case went to trial. “The law can’t bring back his lost masterpiece, but maybe a judgment will temporarily jolt other indifferent oafs into paying attention,” muses Knight, who earlier described the importance of the Ruscha homage: By 1978, Ruscha’s stature was such that he was routinely identified as the quintessential L.A. artist. He actually was a Pop art giant, and Twitchell’s monumental mural represented him as one. […]

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