Art has been allegedly trashed from a special installation in Los Angeles. AEG, or Anschutz Entertainment Group, stands accused of junking the artwork of renowned street artists Mear One, Chor Boogie and Shark Toof.

Curator for the L.A. Art Machine, Bryson Strauss, recruited the three artists, as well as Shepard Fairey, to provide artwork for an AEG promotional event that took place at the L.A Live hotel and condo last January, in conjunction with the L.A Art Show.

Fairey’s work sold for $48,000 and was removed shortly after the event.  However, it is alleged that AEG’s condo sales director asked that the other artists allow their artwork to remain at the Ritz-Carlton, in an effort to attract affluent clientele to the luxury residences.  The artists agreed and arrangements were made by Strauss to have the artwork appropriately de-installed under the supervision of L.A. Art Machine at a later date. 

At some point the large scale paintings, valued at $100,000, were thrown out before they could be retrieved, an AEG executive reportedly having said, “…They can have only ended up in the dumpster.”  The artists and L.A. Art Machine will seek damages under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act and California’s Art Preservation Act.

(Report: Christine Bolli)