Museum won't show unfinished work after dispute with artist

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. --A Massachusetts museum that won the right in court to show an unfinished exhibit over the artist's objections has decided not to.

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art says it will dismantle the large work by Swiss artist Christoph Buchel.

"We explored a range of options, but at the end of the day, we really want to move forward," Mass MoCA's director Joseph Thompson told The Boston Globe. "It's been 10 months of misery, and we really are looking forward to making a new piece of art."

Thompson said he also considered the artist's wishes.

"Christoph's own views on the matter did have weight with me," Thompson said.

Buchel's attorney, Donn Zaretsky, said he is "pleased."

"This is the right decision for my client, for the cause of artistic freedom, and even for the museum itself," Zaretsky said in a statement. He did not say if his client will drop an appeal that seeks damages from the museum.

Buchel's work, "Training Ground for Democracy," was being installed in a football-sized building at MassMoCA. The work resembles a ghost town or a wartime village, and includes an oil tanker, a smashed police car and a two-story house.

Buchel and MassMoCA have been in a dispute since the museum told him several months ago it had run out of money for his project. The museum later cancelled the show and sued for the right to show parts of it.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor in Springfield denied Buchel's request for an injunction to stop the museum from letting the public into the installation.

The museum had faced criticism over its handling of the dispute, which was seen by some as heavy-handed.

"I think the pressure was being applied to them," Mark Bessire, director of the Bates College Museum of Art, told the Globe. He praised Mass MoCA for "taking the high road."

Thompson estimated that removing the unfinished work will cost up to $40,000, bringing the total bill for the project to nearly $400,000.

The Globe said Buchel sent the newspaper an e-mail on Tuesday night in response to the museum's announcement. He said he offered to donate a "permanent installation" that wouldn't cost anything and ended his e-mail with an image of his plan, a tweak of the museum's rooftop sign to spell out "Mass CoMA."

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe