Brooklyn Muralists Sue Vince Camuto For 'Bushwick Beats' Ad Campaign: Reports

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — An designer footwear company is being sued by four Brooklyn graffiti arts who claim their murals were featured in ads without their permission, court records show.

Artists Joseph Tierney (or Rime), Cary Patraglia (Host18), Spencer Valdez (Taboo) and Keith Rowland (Reme) filed a complaint after their Morgan Avenue murals appeared in Vince Camuto’s “Bushwick Beats” ad campaign, according to an Artnet report.

The ads — which appeared on the Vince Camuto and Macy’s websites as well as on YouTube — exploited the artists (who reported themselves to be decidedly anti-consumerism) by using their work to sell merchandise without their permission, according to the complaint filed in a California civil court on July 5.

Art law expert Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento told Artnet that the murals may be protected by intellectual property law, even though they are on public display.

“The artists’ allegations that they police and guard their associations with commercial and corporate entities should make it easier for them to prove market harm,” he wrote in an email.

“Just because the graffiti—or any art, for that matter—is in public space, does not necessarily mean that that artwork or graffiti is not protected.”

Representatives from Vince Camuto — the footwear company named after the founder of Nine West — did not immediately return a request for comment.

Header photo courtesy of See-ming Lee/Flickr