The Guggenheim Bilbao has succeeded in having a piece of street artwork by Paul McCarthy and Mike Bouchet based on an image of their museum removed from a building in the Spanish city.
The museum claimed the work, which depicts the iconic Frank Gehry structure, was not art, but a “commercial banner featuring an image of the museum, which is trademarked.”
The Guggenheim said it “respects the artists’ rights and it likewise protects its own image rights.”
The piece was part of an exhibit that is, according to a release, based on a view that “arts institutions are self-serving mechanisms for their board members, while its visitors gooseneck at the sight of a toilet bowl on Fifth Avenue.” Ouch.