6 - Works and Walls: Graffiti Writing and Street Art at the Intersection of Copyright and Land Law

Summary

Street art raise interesting issues, all remain within a framework of property relations. Yet the owner of the wall and the author of the work are not the only relevant actors. People will pass these works as they walk down the street and may be moved to photograph them. The work might become so well known, through traditional or social media coverage, or so beloved that it comes to be considered part of the fabric of the local community. If the nature of that community is contested by different groups (i.e. publics), the work may itself become a site of contestation. The removal of a work may not therefore go unnoticed, whether welcome or unwelcome. In placing the author at the centre of this thinly sketched web of conflicting rights and interests amongst different actors and groups the question becomes one, most obviously, of the integrity of property: for the author it is likely to be a question of moral rights as they seek to maintain the integrity of their work.