Judge rules Mass. museum may show unfinished exhibit

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --A federal judge has rejected a Swiss artist's effort to keep a North Adams museum from showing his massive, unfinished exhibit.

Christoph Buchel last year abandoned the "Training Ground for Democracy" over creative differences with the museum and disavowed the project.

But the museum, which had spent $300,000 on materials for the football-field sized display, sued for the right to show it without violating federal copyright laws.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor ruled the museum could legally display the work and rejected a counterclaim by Buchel that showing the unfinished work was a distortion of his work and could damage his reputation.

Ponsor ruled Mass MoCA had much more to lose than Buchel if the work was never shown. He ordered the museum to draft a disclaimer to accompany the exhibit which states it's an unfinished work.

"It is no distortion to exhibit something by saying exactly what it is," Ponsor said.

Buchel was not in court. His attorney, Donn Zaretsky, said: "We're obviously disappointed in the judge's ruling and we're exploring our options for appeal."

Mass MoCA director Joseph Thompson would not say if the museum would open the exhibit, though he said, "Our visitors are accustomed to seeing works in progress in our galleries and on our stages."

He said the museum would announce its intentions for the exhibit within the next week.

Buchel's ambitious exhibit includes a two-story house, a battered police car, mobile homes, an amusement park carousel outfitted with bombs and a hanging replica of the spider hole where Saddam Hussein was captured.

As Buchel worked on it, the budget reportedly ballooned from $160,000 to $300,000. Buchel eventually abandoned the exhibit, alleging funding and planning problems made it impossible for the museum to acquire items he needed and fulfill its contractual obligations on the project.

In May, Mass MoCA filed papers in federal court asking for the right to show Buchel's unfinished work as part of another exhibition. Buchel filed a counterclaim to keep the project out of public view.