Museum Lawsuits: Denmark’s Graceland museum to be renamed Memphis Mansion on January 2016; Met Museum sued for “racist” Jesus paintings

The Danish Graceland museum will be renamed as Memphis Mansion starting January 1, 2016 after lawsuit charges. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also being sued for depicting so-called "racist" paintings of Jesus.

The Graceland Randers Museum in Denmark will change its name to Memphis Mansion next year, reported Contactmusic.com. The Danish Elvis museum was filed with a lawsuit by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee, after being charged of infringement of the "Graceland" trademark.

Museum owner Henrik Knudsen is also being charged $220,000 (1.5 million kroner) for compensation. Knudsen said the he will change the museum's name to "focus on [his] business."

Knudsen launched the western Denmark museum in Randers, Copenhagen in 2011. It is a replica of Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion in Memphis, reported Salon.

The Danish Graceland museum exhibits Elvis artifacts from Knudsen's collection. There is also a American-style restaurant and souvenir shop in the museum. More than 130,000 visitors went to the museum this year.

Meanwhile, the Met Museum is also facing lawsuit charges for supposedly depicting "racist" paintings of Jesus as per DNAinfo's report. A man named Justin Renel Joseph filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the museum, saying that the Met paintings portray a "whitewashed" Jesus. He added that the paintings were a "cultural theft of an important historical and public figure."

In the lawsuit, Joseph said that the paintings caused him to experience "lowered self-esteem, discomfort, personal and emotional distress, and to feel rejected and unaccepted by society." These artworks were "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes" (Tintoretto), "The Resurrection" (Perugino), "The Crucifixion" (Francesco Granacci), and "The Holy Family with Angels" (Sebastiano Ricci). He added that the Met Museum is fostering "white supremacy propaganda" with its permanent collection of paintings depicting Jesus as white.

Joseph demanded the paintings to be taken down and to be paid compensation for legal costs and relief. "I think this will start a domino effect," said Joseph. "Any kind of museum with government subsidies shouldn't engage in this type of speech." He even called on "brave artists" to "depict Jesus how he is and donate their work to these museums."

Joseph claims that those paintings should be removed under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The New York City Law Department's spokesman said they would review Joseph's lawsuit. 

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Museum Lawsuits, Denmark Graceland museum lawsuit, Danish Graceland museum lawsuit, Danish Elvis museum lawsuit, Graceland Randers Museum, trademark infringement, Met Museum lawsuit, racist Jesus paintings, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Justin Renel Joseph

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