Graffiti Artists Paint Angry Picture in Court

By PAULETTE GINDI & TATYANA BELLAMY-WALKER

Graffiti artist Thomas Lavero, testified on Thursday that it was a “smack in the face” to have his work obliterated from a building complex in Queens that had been for many years a showcase for his work and the work of others.

His lament came as a lawsuit continued in Brooklyn Federal Court about the whitewashing of his and his colleagues’ 200,000 square foot outdoor mural museum, better known as 5pointz.

5pointz was a mural space at 45-46 Davis Street in Long Island City which became “graffiti Mecca”, for its reputation of having aerosol painters from around the globe paint the factory building. The space was launched in 1993, when a real estate developer collaborated with street artists in creating a space for artists to legally express their creativity through aerosol painting.

Lavero is one of the 21 graffiti artists mounting the lawsuit over the destruction of their art and demanding rights to their work, which was painted over in 2013.

The 21 artists are now suing G&M Realty’s landlord, Jerry Wolkoff under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) for painting over their work without notice. The VARA federal law protects artwork of a “recognized stature”, although the defendant’s attorney argue that the murals were never intended to be permanent.

Also expressing their anger on testimony was graffiti artist Bienbenido Gurra, who did carpentry when he wasn’t painting. Gurra found out about the whitewashing of the complex while listening to the radio.

“It was like getting kicked off a ladder and landing on your back,” Gurra said. Gurra described his reaction as “boiling blood” and wanting to “raise hell in 5pointz”.