For immediate release: Wednesday 1/24/96
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Yesterday The Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum joined artists, critics, art dealers and the ACLU in appealing a controversial Federal Court ruling. Lederman v. City of New York 94 Civ. 7216 (MGC) charges New York City with violating street artists' First Amendment rights. Also included among the amicus briefs filed as part of the appeal in support of five members of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics) are those from artists Claes Oldenburg, Jenny Holzer, Chuck Close and David Hammons; art critics Irving Sandler and Simon Schama; the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York City Arts Coalition, the College Art Association; SoHo art dealer Ron Feldman and the A.C.L.U. and N.Y.C.L.U. The highly respected artists, art experts and institutions joined in condemning Federal Judge Miriam Cedarbaum's controversial decision that visual art without words or a political message is not protected by the First Amendment. Based on the judge's ruling, issued on 10/24/95 in United States District Court, Southern District, N.Y., the City has renewed its controversial policy of arresting artists.
According to A.R.T.I.S.T. president Robert Lederman, the pattern of arrests, confiscations and dismissals is part of an illegal and misguided "quality of life" policy aimed at intimidating artists into giving up displaying and selling their original art on N.Y.C. streets. Artists are repeatedly handcuffed and arrested. Their original paintings, photographs and prints are confiscated. Once arrested, the artists are charged with not having a vending license; the same license the City admits in its legal brief is impossible to obtain, or even apply for. While the City has made hundreds of arrests, and continues to make them on a daily basis, none of the artists have been brought to trial in Criminal Court or convicted of a crime. Every case is eventually dismissed. The confiscated art is sold at a monthly Police Department forfeiture auction or destroyed, often before the cases are dismissed in court.
Since 1982 New York City's vending ordinance has specifically exempted other constitutionally protected forms of expression such as books, magazines and baseball cards, from the licensing requirement, based on the First Amendment.
In a related action, three A.R.T.I.S.T. members, Lei Chang, Joe Costin and Robert Lederman were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court's DAT section (100 Centre Street, 9:30 A.M.) and will be the first artists the City attempts to prosecute under Judge Cedarbaum's ruling.
For more information contact: A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics) (718 369-2111)
E-mail ARTISTpres@aol.com or visit the A.R.T.I.S.T. web site at: <http://homepage.interaccess.com/~mar/nyc.html> Contents include Judge Cedarbaum's entire ruling; contact numbers for all City officials involved in this issue; legal precedents in other First Amendment cases and other research materials for covering this story.