Judge Frederic Block (author photo)
A federal judge said that the act of lettering is a valid art. Even though he couldn’t understand the lettering, he respected it as art. That’s amazing, that’s groundbreaking.
— Jonathan ‘Meres One’ Cohen, a New York-based graffiti artist, commenting on the landmark ruling issued by Judge Frederic Block (E.D.N.Y.) earlier this month in the 5Pointz graffiti case (aka Cohen v. G&M Realty L.P.). Holding that street art enjoys the same protection that the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) extends to more traditional art forms, Judge Block ordered real estate developer Jerry Wolkoff to pay $6.7 million to 21 graffiti artists whose work he whitewashed (even though the graffiti appeared on buildings that Wolkoff owned — but be sure to read the full opinion for the complete context, including Wolkoff’s prior dealings with the artists).
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Judge Block is an artist himself — author of a well-reviewed novel, Race to Judgment, for which he composed music as well — so one can understand why he might have been especially receptive to the artists’ claims. But it’s worth noting that the judge’s decision follows the recommendation of the advisory jury convened in this case.
David Lat is editor at large and founding editor of Above the Law, as well as the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].