Museum, Artist Go to Court Over Massive Installation

The major exhibition now at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art has been covered with yellow tarp and closed to the public for nearly two months, due to a very public dispute between the museum and Swiss artist Christoph Buchel.

The artist is known for creating life-sized installations of complete rooms, bomb shelters and other interior spaces that visitors walk, crawl and climb through to experience Buchel's political and social critiques.

With the largest contemporary art space in the United States, Mass MOCA has dedicated its Building 5 to a movie theater, a guard tower, a mobile home and a two-story house, among other objects listed by the artist.

The museum claims Buchel went over budget. The artist says the museum botched the installation and failed to live up to its end of the agreement. Now they're in court.

Andrea Shea reports from member station WBUR.