Loren Naji Sues INTRO Developer and Panzica Construction After His 3,000-Pound Sculpture Disappeared From Ohio City

Artist Loren Naji’s first foray into artistic time capsules was intended to be his longest-lasting work yet.

Called “They Have Landed,” the 3,000-pound, hollow sphere made from 192 layers of plywood took the multidisciplinary sculptor and abstract painter a year and half to build.

At one of his galas in 2011, he invited guests to bring personal items in Ziploc bags, “stuff” later put in the sphere/time capsule.

That same day, the orb — with its wine bottles and CDs and personal effects—was forklifted down the street to a small triangle of RTA-owned land in front of the Red Line stop on West 25th, not to be opened until 2050.

“It was my way, I thought, of invigorating the community,” Naji said.

But it only made it part of the way to 2050.

Last spring, Naji told Scene, Panzica Construction, the company hired by Harbor Bay Ventures to build the Intro mixed-use complex just across the street from where “They Have Landed” sat, covertly destroyed his piece of public art and deposited in an unknown landfill.

In a Federal lawsuit filed this week by his attorney Susannah Muskovitz, Naji claims that Harbor Bay and Panzica’s “willful, wanton and malicious” decision to dispose of “They Have Landed”  is unjust, primarily under the federal Visual Artist Rights Act, which protects visual artists’ rights when their public work is damaged. The complaint alleges vandalism, property damage and breach of contract.

“Naji has incurred significant financial losses as a result of the unlawful destruction of the Sculpture,” the lawsuit reads. “It “harms Naji’s reputation and causes him substantial harm.”

In a phone interview Friday, Dan Whalen, Vice President of Design & Development and President of Hospitality of Harbor Bay Hospitality, said his company was not at fault.

“We owned a public right of way that was used as part of a street reconfiguration,” Whalen said. “But I’ll say nothing at all was removed or destroyed at our direction or knowing that it was public art.”

As for the land in question, which included a small bronze plaque honoring Naji’s work, Whalen is referring the triangle where the sculpture stood.

According to the complaint, GCRTA—which had signed a contract with Naji for the artwork on July 22, 2011—”dedicated” the land strip to the city as a right-of-way, due to its proximity to the soon-to-be-built Intro project.

Regardless, according to Naji, if GCRTA was to ever move the orb, they would have to give him six-month notice before doing so. The contract, however, expired on July 31, 2021.

A planning document from November of 2021 shows that Intro construction plans included a note to remove the sculpture — though the documents aren’t clear whether it was temporary or permanent.

Either way, no one told the artist.

As construction went on, Panzica wrapped the triangle in fencing. And though GCRTA had paid to secure “They Have Landed” with four six-foot anchor bolts, as to keep the piece in place until its 2050 re-opening, the enormous artwork disappeared last August.

“No one ever emailed me,” Naji said over coffee Friday, ironically, at Edda in the Intro building. “They haven’t called, emailed, texted, anything! No Facebook, Instagram! No one has gotten a hold of me from the city, not RTA, not Harbor Bay, and not Panzica Construction.”

He said he spoke at one point to a construction manager from Panzica on site who said the sculpture had been damaged, or had rotted, and had been tossed.

Susannah Muskovitz, Naji’s attorney who was at the 2011 gala and who has Naji’s Eye of God displayed in her firm’s office, corroborated the radio silence. She had mailed letters—with colored photos of the orb and the alleged crime scene—to all parties, all without responses as of this writing.

“Complete arrogance,” Muskovitz said, “in my opinion.”

As for a proper amount for repayment, Naji isn’t sure yet what he wants. At 66, he’s learned to let pieces and galleries fade into somewhat obscure realms—his West 25th gallery was shut down after it was raided for not having a liquor license—yet letting Harbor and Panzica off the hook doesn’t, for him, seem permissible.

“The piece? What’s the value?” Naji said.  “$6,000? A half year of work? 12-hour days?”

He added, after a pause: “That was my pride, my reputation as an artist, it was an important part of my portfolio. And I’ll never be able to see it again.”

Update: This article initially misidentified Dan Whalen’s title.

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This article appears in Feb 8-21, 2023.