On 14 January, pioneering land artist Mary Miss and the Des Moines Art Center (DMAC) settled their ten-month legal battle over the demolition of Miss’s outdoor installation. The artist will receive $900,000 and DMAC will go forward with the demolition.
On 4 April 2024, Mary Miss filed a lawsuit against DMAC, which planned to demolish the artist’s outdoor installation Greenwood Pond: Double Site (1996). The museum cited the expensive maintenance of the artwork as a reason for demolition but was faced with significant resistance from the arts community and local residents.
A hearing was set, and the demolition was temporarily halted. On 3 May, Judge Stephen H. Locher from the Iowa Court in charge of the decision ruled that the installation could not be demolished without the artist’s consent. However, it also ruled DMAC’s decision not to maintain the installation was reasonable, as per the contractual agreement giving DMAC ‘unilateral discretion to decide whether to undertake repairs or restoration’. This left the case at ‘an unsatisfying status quo’, according to Judge Locher.
According to this week’s settlement, DMAC will remove the entirety of Miss’s installation and will have authority over how it is removed. The artist will remove her claim and will receive $900,000, which she has pledged to donate to a new Public Art Advocacy Fund founded by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF).
President and CEO of TCLF, Charles A. Birnbaum said in a statement: ‘What happened to “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” could have and should have been prevented, but the institution that commissioned the environmental sculpture for its permanent collection appears to have failed as a proper custodian and steward of this widely acclaimed and influential artwork, which is a core function and responsibility’.
