Ashley Salazar, AKA Mynxii White is suing the artist Richard Prince and The Gagosian Gallery through the US District Court, in the Central District of California. The case revolves around a two-year-old photograph of the makeup artist who claims that Prince appropriated her intellectual property, without being consulted as the subject for a $100,000 work of art. The lawsuit was filed 15 June and Salazar has requested that the case is tried by a jury and points out in the complaint that she registered the image for copyright.
The image used in Prince’s work shows White holding an ice-cream iPhone case taking a selfie. Prince has written a caption under the photo “Angel Investors 50/50 InTheDark Wonderful. What do Zu want Zu Zu. Big tire event.”
Prince is under fire with three further copyright infringement suits; a complaint by Dennis Morris over a photo of Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious, and photographer Donald Graham recently sued him over a photo of a Rastafarian that Prince showed at Gagosian Gallery.
Prince’s legal team have filed to dismiss the case in the Southern District of New York. Representing Salazar is Douglas A. Linde and Erica A. Gonzalez of the Linde Law Firm, of Los Angeles. Joshua Schiller of New York firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner represents Prince; Dontzin Nagy & Fleissig, of New York, represent Gagosian the dealer that Prince severed ties this summer.