Rutgers–Newark Law School Hosts March 9 Panel Discussion on Graffiti and Its Place in the Legal Scheme of Society

While modern-day graffiti has won recognition by some as a legitimate art form deserving of gallery shows, it remains for others a form of vandalism to be discouraged by legal controls on its location and materials.

On Wednesday, March 9, 2011, the Art Law Society at Rutgers School of Law–Newark will present a panel discussion titled “The Letter and the Law: A Graffiti Panel.” Among the prominent speakers are the curator of an outdoor art exhibit space that bills itself as the world’s “graffiti Mecca” and an attorney who was instrumental in rescinding a New York City ordinance that banned ownership by persons under 21 of graffiti-making materials.

The Art Law Society is a student-run group dedicated to providing opportunities for discussion of leading topics in this growing legal field. The organization recently hosted a presentation on “Stolen Art: Litigating Holocaust-era Expropriation Claims,” a video of which can be found at http://lawevents.rutgers.edu/events/artlaw11/.

“The Art Law Society has done a very effective job of raising the awareness of the law school and the greater Newark artists’ community to current legal issues affecting artists,” said Associate Dean and Director of the Law Library Carol Roehrenbeck, who teaches Art Law Seminar. “Last year the organization hosted a program titled ‘The Repatriation of African Art: the Benin Bronzes’ and another on art title insurance.”

What: “The Letter and the Law: A Graffiti Panel” presented by the Rutgers Art Law Society

Who: Jerry Gant, Newark-based gallery artist; Meres One, curator of the Five Pointz Gallery; Tats Cru, a collective of professional graffiti artists; Dan Perez, Law Offices of Daniel M. Perez, Esq.; Associate Dean Carol Roehrenbeck, Rutgers School of Law–Newark; Professor David Dante Troutt, Rutgers School of Law–Newark, moderator

When: 6 – 8 pm, Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Where: Baker Trial Courtroom, Rutgers School of Law–Newark