NEW YORK, NY May 25, 2004 — Many of the city's large buildings have art works in their lobbies, and it's probably safe to say many tenants don't agree with their landlord's tastes. WNYC's Fred Mogul looks at how one white-shoe law firm got its way.

Lenny Powers curates exhibitions in several large mid-town lobbies, and he had what he thought was an inspired idea for the Conde Nast Building, in the middle of Times Square. Powers presented the colorful SoHo pop art of Bernard Aptekar to the building's landlord.

POWERS : I showed him reproductions of the work and the resume for the artist. We discussed it. We decided it would be very effective work for that location

The 68-year-old Aptekar was installing his 35-foot-high cartoon-like cut-outs, when word came down that the law firm Skadden Arps wanted him out. Real estate mogul Douglas Durst sided with Skadden, which occupies about half of the 48-story building. Powers, who says he always tries to steer clear of controversy for corporate clients, was surprised.

POWERS: I try not to make decisions that are going to be offensive to people. I mean at times I'm sure I've come rather close.

Aptekar's works are surreal, symbolic set-pieces that one New York Times critic said fall uneasily between art and propaganda. Neither artist nor curator are sure which piece, exactly, irked the attorneys though Aptekar thinks it could have been The Martyrdom of the Races and the Sexes, which features a tangle of body parts and missiles, topped by a woman and two men on a crucifix.

APTEKAR: All of these works are political and satirical, and playful, as well. It tells you things are not the way they should be, and if they're not, you're obliged to change them.

Skadden, Arps spokespersons declined to comment. Arts consultant Maureen McGovern says, though she doesn't know the particulars of the case, companies frequently nit-pick corporate shows -- but usually much earlier in the game.

MCGOVERN: Skadden Arps, certainly by who they are and who they represent, would have a great influence on what would happen. It surprises me that they were not contacted , or maybe they even talked to major people, and at first it sounded fine, and then they saw it, and all of a sudden , a partner became concerned about the image.

TRACK5: The Durst Organization issued a statement saying it, quote, "respects and takes seriously" its tenants' objection. Aptekar, meanwhile, has a newfound appreciation of a famous art history tale that unfolded a few blocks away. In the 1930s, Nelson Rockefeller fired muralist Diego Rivera and ordered his Rockefeller Center mural destroyed. Rivera painted it again in Mexico City. Aptekar hopes he won't have to go so far to display his work, and that the Durst Organization will find another midtown lobby with more receptive tenants. For WNYC, I'm Fred Mogul.

Artist Bernard Aptekar

The Conde Nast Building

Skadden, Arps