Artists sue Memphis over scrubbed murals
Twelve artists sued the city of Memphis on Wednesday for mistakenly painting over their Midtown murals in an attempt to scrub nearby murals council members called "satanic."
City crews painted over the murals around the end of January in what Public Works Director Robert Knecht later said was a miscommunication. Only one of the murals, by KYO Krew, was on a list of controversial murals given to Knecht by council member Jamita Swearengen, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The murals, which were on Willett north of Lamar, were part of an annual 135-mural installation organized by Paint Memphis. The artists painted some murals on public property with city permission but painted others — like a giant mural of a maggot-infested zombie on a building fronting Lamar — on private property, with owners' OK.
At the time, Knecht said the seven murals were destroyed because of a "miscommunication."
What's in the lawsuit?
The artists argue that the murals were protected by federal copyright laws under the Visual Artists Rights Act, and that the murals didn't constitute objectionable material under Paint Memphis' agreement with the city. The agreement expressly forbade nudity, cursing and gang signs and drug use.
Artists finished the murals in October 2017, according to the complaint. More than three months later, City Council member Jamita Swearengen "unilaterally" requested the removal of six controversial murals in an email her staffer sent to Knecht. Later that month, at the end of January, before the council had voted to ask the administration to remove the murals, Knecht ordered a city crew that addresses graffiti to "attack" the murals, the lawsuit says.
"Defendant’s conduct was particularly humiliating and damaging to the artists
because the 'Beige Patrol' was used to carry out the attack and the 'Beige Patrol' is normally assigned to attack illegal graffiti," the complaint said.
Karen Golightly, who heads Paint Memphis, didn't receive notification of the plan to paint over the murals until Feb. 8, after the work had begun, the complaint said. Golightly didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Swearengen, who previously said her constituents had complained about some of the murals, declined to comment on the issue because of the ongoing litigation.
After the dustup, council members have pushed to give surrounding neighborhoods more of a say on what public art is painted in their areas — although Golightly has said she doesn't plan to work with the city in the future.
The artists are seeking financial damages for the loss of the murals and for the damage to their reputations and emotions, but are also asking for a permanent injunction prohibiting the city from destroying any other artwork in the Paint Memphis installation.
The artists who filed the lawsuit were Philip Binczyk, Zack Kremer, Beth Warmath, Chad Ruis, Jules Veros, Kathryn Crawford, Kiera Pies, Angel Montoya, Chase Kolanda, Jack Mears, Shane Boteler and Meghan Gates. Only Kremer is a resident of Memphis.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.