Robert Wyland, the artist that painted the Whaling Walls mural in Dallas, a work of art that was destroyed when it was painted over it by the World Cup local committee, has sued FIFA and other defendants for "hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark" and seeks at least $25 million in damages.
Wyland said that his mural, painted in 1999, was protected by a 1990 federal law passed to protect visual artists from destruction of publicly displayed works, so when it was painted over to paint a new mural to promote World Cup, they illegally destroyed his work. "Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced an historic fixture of the host city", the artist, 69, said (via Al Jazeera).
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However, FIFA has denied having anything to do with it, and places responsibility on the local organising committee. The area's World Cup organising committee said in a statement that in place of Wyland's mural, new artwork is planned "that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026". Dallas will host more World Cup matches than any other city this summer, nine matches including four knockout games.
"They picked the wrong artist", says Wyland
Wyland will go ahead with the lawsuit, even if he knows it is a "David and Goliath" situation. "They are a multi-billion dollar company, and I am a single artist with a small foundation, But I tell you, they picked the wrong artist and the wrong artwork. I am not going to stand by and let them get away with this", Wyland told The Guardian.
One week after the wall was painted, nothing has been painted over it, three days before the competition starts, but The Guardian doubts that, given the backlash, anything will be painted over it, which means the pain was destroyed for nothing. "These walls are like my kids. This is really, really personal", said Wyland, who between 1981 and 2008 painted 100 of these walls all around the world.