Public wall murals have been the subject of much attention
recently. Legislators for Los Angeles, considered the "mural
capital of the world", are reviewing a proposed city ordinance
to preserve vintage art murals and to repeal an existing ban on
private murals (enacted as an overzealous attempt to stem
graffiti). Wall murals are the focus of attention in other cities
as well. Murals are visible and public "public art",
presenting social, political and aesthetic ideas in and on everyday
media.
There are few cases involving art murals but recently, Maya
Hayuk, a Brooklyn-based muralist and painter, filed suit against
RCA Records and Sony Music over the music video "I Only Wanna
Give It To You" (the "Video"). The Video by
recording artist and musician Elle Varner features one of
Hayuk's murals titled "Sunshine" (the
"Mural"), which was originally created by the muralist
for the music video of the same name by artists Rye Rye and M.I.A.
Although Hayuk voluntarily
