The Chinese American Museum and the city of Los Angeles are trying to persuade a judge to toss an artist’s lawsuit alleging the museum destroyed his work without his knowledge or permission, according to court papers obtained Friday.
David Lew — known professionally as Shark Toof — sued in Los Angeles federal court in December under the Visual Artists Rights Act, alleging that the work he created for the museum’s courtyard was removed and thrown away by a city maintenance crew without warning to the artist.
Lew is seeking damages under VARA, a federal copyright-related law partly designed to prevent the destruction of work of “recognized stature.”
Lew was one of the artists contributing to “Don’t Believe the Hype: L.A. Asian Americans in Hip-Hop,” an exhibition that was on view from May to December 2018 at the city-owned museum near the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Lew contributed 88 hand-painted burlap sacks, which were hung in the Chinese American Museum’s courtyard as a commentary on the history of Chinese immigrants employed in the laundry business.
The defendants allege the tote bags were hung as courtyard decor meant to be sold for $88 apiece after the show’s run and were not protected by federal law since they were not works of “visual art,” but “gift shop items.”
In a memorandum filed Wednesday in support of the defendants’ motion to dismiss, the city argues that Lew’s work was “merchandise,” not copyright-registered pieces of art — and “a copyright registration granted by the Copyright Office is a pre-requisite” to filing such a lawsuit.
A March 1 hearing is scheduled in Los Angeles federal court to discuss the city’s motion to dismiss Lew’s complaint.