Franck Slama, an anonymous French artist known for his use of ceramic tiles for pixelated Moses artwork, recently sued Julian Auction’s parent company for copyright infringement, theft and violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act.
The lawsuit states that 15 kinds of original artworks have been installed at various locations around the world, “invaders have been stolen from their installation sites without the intruder’s knowledge or consent and all seem to be significantly damaged, dismembered or distorted in a manner that is apparently damaged, mutilated or distorted.
Two of the mosaics were initially installed in Tokyo, Japan in 2014, while two of them were installed at various locations in France last November. The oldest work was installed in Paris in October 2000.
Although the intruder asked the items to be removed from the auction house and returned to him, 15 pieces of art were then provided as the auction house’s “Street Art: Paint & Pavement” sales.
Mosaics are part of an ongoing series “Space Invaders” of the invaders, which are installed in different urban locations around the world. It began in 1998 and has grown to over 4,000 artworks in 87 different countries and regions, including one of the International Space Station.
“The intruders have never sold transfers of intruder art to anyone and are still the sole author and owner of all works and copyrights,” a court filing filed in the U.S. District Court in the Central U.S. District Court on September 24 said.
when Artnews On September 25, a checked page of the street art auction, which included artworks by Banksy and Shepard Fairey, a list of all 15 works attributed to the intruders has been removed. The court also approved the artist’s request for a restraining order on September 25.
“We are pleased that the court approved the intruder’s request for restraining orders and suspended the auction of items that appear to be infringing, promoting or both,” Slama’s attorney Scott Alan Burroughs said in an emailed statement, Artnews. “We had already approached Julien to discuss the matter before the auction, but they ignored these pleas and, essentially, forced us to bring it to court. We look forward to ensuring that the rights of the invaders as artists are recognized and enforced.”
In response to the lawsuit, Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of the auction house, has made a statement to Artnews“Julian’s auction has been proud to be a vandal in the contemporary and street art market for over twenty years, always working with artists, estates and collectors to collaborate with transparency and integrity for authentic works. Street art, whose essence is created in public places, is ownership in order to freely win the act of the street. Vandalists, without proper consent, source or partnership, we will never provide any work.
The invaders’ artwork attracted more attention last year when the anonymous French artist made his new work at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although his work was technically damaged in France, he received support from French officials and with New Yorker The report said that Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo had an intruder in her office.
