Visual Artists Rights Act facts for kids

The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) is a United States law that gives special rights to artists. It's like a rulebook that helps protect their creations.

VARA was the first federal copyright law in the U.S. to protect what are called moral rights. This means artists have certain controls over their artwork, even if someone else owns the physical piece or the copyright. For example, a painter can make sure their name is always on their painting. In some cases, they can even stop someone from destroying their painting, even if that person owns it!

Before VARA, some states had similar rules, but there wasn't a national law. The U.S. passed VARA because of an international agreement called the Berne Convention, which said countries should protect these artist rights.

What Rights Do Artists Get?

VARA gives artists of certain artworks these special rights:

• The right to say they created the work.
• The right to stop their name from being used on art they didn't make.
• The right to stop their name from being used on art that has been changed in a way that harms their honor or reputation.
• The right to stop their art from being changed (distorted, damaged, or altered) if it would harm their honor or reputation.

Also, for artworks that are considered to have "recognized stature" (meaning they are important or well-known), artists can stop them from being intentionally or carelessly destroyed. An artist can give up these rights in writing, but this is not common in many other countries where these "moral rights" ideas first came from.

Most of the time, these rights last for the artist's entire life. If a work was created by more than one artist, the rights last until the last artist passes away.

What Art Is Covered?

VARA protects specific types of art:

• paintings
• drawings
• prints
• sculptures
• still photographic images made only for showing in public.

These artworks must be single copies or part of a limited series of 200 or fewer copies. Each copy must be signed and numbered by the artist. The law doesn't care if the art is considered "good" or "valuable" by critics; it just needs to fit these types.

How VARA Works in Real Life

VARA only applies to a specific group of visual artworks. But for the art it does cover, VARA places big limits on how they can be changed or removed. If someone buys an artwork and wants to change it or get rid of it, they usually need to get written permission from the artist first.

This has been a big topic, especially for people who pay for public sculptures. Without a written agreement, artists could potentially stop their sculptures from being moved from where they were first placed. However, a court case in 2006 said that VARA doesn't protect the exact location of a sculpture. This means covered artworks can be moved as long as the move doesn't damage or change the art itself. Still, some artists feel that moving their art is like destroying it, because it was made for a specific place.

Famous Art Cases and VARA

• Tilted Arc, a well-known sculpture by Richard Serra, was removed from a public plaza before VARA became law. This case helped show why a law like VARA was needed.
• Kent Twitchell's Ed Ruscha mural was painted over without his permission. Twitchell later received a large payment under VARA.
• In 2018, a judge used VARA to award money to 21 graffiti artists. Their artworks at the 5 Pointz outdoor graffiti museum were destroyed by the property owner who tore down the building.
• In another 2018 case, an artist claimed many of his artworks were destroyed in a rented space. While the artist did not win the full amount he asked for under VARA, the case showed how courts look at an artist's "recognized stature" when deciding if VARA applies.