LOS ANGELES—To the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Revok is a renowned artist whose bright, sprawling work is worthy of display in its latest exhibit. To the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Revok is Jason Williams, also known as inmate No. 2714221. Last month, Mr. Williams was sentenced to 180 days in county jail as a result of a probation violation from a graffiti incident, just days after the opening of a major museum exhibit dedicated to "street art" that features his work. Unable to post his $320,000 bail, Mr. Williams sat in jail for four days before the sentencing. It may be illegal on the street, but inside the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, a new exhibit celebrates the history of graffiti, featuring work by artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey. WSJ's Tammy Audi reports. Law-enforcement officials around the country are prosecuting graffiti artists with harsher sentences than ever, pushing for felony charges, real prison time and restitution payments as they seek to wipe graffiti from the streets. At the same time, the art world and corporations are embracing the form like never before. "You can make a case that graffiti and street art is the most influential art movement since the great innovations of the '60s," says Jeffrey Deitch, director of the L.A. museum, known as MOCA. "Before this show, no American museum had ever done an ambitious historical exhibition."...Work by artists Revok and Rime is part of an exhibition at MOCA in Los Angeles. The artist known as Revok is in an L.A. jail on charges related to a graffiti incident.
The trumped up charges against Revok have reeked of suspicion ever since his arrest. From nabbing Revok in the first place for a parole violation and not a new crime, to the exorbitant $320,000 bail, to be sentenced to half a year in jail a day after the arrest, the whole thing seemed like there was something bigger going on. The LAPD were clearly looking for someone to make an example of doing graffiti outside MOCA. But when they hadn't made an arrest on the streets after the first week, they wanted a high profile name to take down. There was probably a short list of high profile arrests, so short, there was probably only one name on it--Revok. Read more after the jump!...
