Artist Considers Lawsuit Over Border Agents’ Group Photo in Front of His Chicago Sculpture
The acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor is considering taking legal action after being left “horrified” by a group photo taken by border patrol agents posed in front of his Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago.
British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor’s 2006 mirrored sculpture Cloud Gate, located in Chicago’s Millennium Park, is one of the world’s most famous pieces of public art. Known locally as “the Bean” for its smooth, elliptical shape, the reflective structure has been the backdrop for numerous photographs in its nearly two-decade history.
But Kapoor now says he is weighing a lawsuit over a controversial group photo taken in front of his sculpture by dozens of U.S. Border Patrol agents, according to The Guardian. The artist says the scene in the group photo represented “fascist America.”
On the morning of November 10, dozens of Border Patrol agents, including senior officer Gregory Bovino, gathered in downtown Chicago for a group photo in front of Cloud Gate to celebrate immigration raids in the city. Bovino, who has emerged as a public figure associated with President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, reportedly led the agents, who were dressed in green fatigues and carried large firearms. Local news outlet Block Club Chicago reports that the agents used the word “Little Village” in place of “Cheese” when posing for the group photo, referencing the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side that federal immigration authorities have repeatedly targeted.
Kapoor says he only became aware of the group photograph on November 11 when a Chicago friend sent it to him. He says the group photo left him “horrified and saddened.”
“In my view, they are no different to SS Nazi troops, intimidating citizens and people they deem to be immigrants,” Kapoor tells The Guardian. “Cloud Gate in Chicago is a place to which citizens and visitors for 20 years now have come together as a place of gathering, and I stand with Mayor Brandon Johnson in his denunciation of Border Patrol’s activity in Chicago.”
When asked whether he is considering legal action, Kapoor responded: “Of course, I’m going to do everything I can.”
The artist did not provide further details about the potential lawsuit. But Kapoor has been known to sue individuals who use his artwork in a way he doesn’t like, and it would not be his first copyright dispute over Cloud Gate. In 2018, he sued the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the sculpture appeared in an image in a one-minute promotional video ad titled “The Clenched Fist of Truth.” The case was settled out of court, and the NRA removed the photo from the promotional video. But Kapoor notes that the current situation with border agents may be more complex.
“It’s a bit more complicated with this, because they’re a full, if you like, national army unit,” Kapoor tells The Guardian.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
