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A man smashes high-priced sculpture because of a selfie

by 7 Comments

We already know selfies often go hand in hand with recklessness and stupidity. Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama felt this on her own skin. Only a few days after opening her exhibition, one of her highly-valued pumpkin sculptures was damaged – because of a selfie.

 

The exhibition “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” was opened in Washington, DC’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on February 23. It quickly became the most popular exhibition in the museum’s history, with more than 8,000 visitors in four days. It’s one of the most essential art exhibitions of 2017, as it celebrates Kusama’s 65-year career.

Among other works, this exhibition features six captivating infinity mirror rooms, and one of them is filled with bright yellow polka-dotted pumpkins. This is where the incident happened. Just like the 126-year-old statue in Lisbon, one of Kusama’s sculptures was also damaged because someone desperately wanted to take a perfect selfie.

A visitor was snapping a selfie in the infinity mirror room when he lost his orientation and stepped on one of the pumpkins. The room was closed after this, and the Hirshhorn’s experts evaluated the damage. According to them, the installation suffered minor damage, and the room was reopened three days after the incident.

One of her pumpkin sculptures was sold for nearly $800,000 in 2015, so you get the idea how highly-valued her work is. However, it was a stand-alone work of art, unlike the damaged pumpkin which was a replaceable piece of a larger work. Nevertheless, I believe it’s quite valuable and pricey because of the artist’s popularity and appreciation in modern art circles.

As for the reckless visitor, the museum staff questioned him, but there was no arrest. They concluded it was pretty much an accident. But still, I’m once again shocked how recklessly people behave only in order to take a selfie. Some even get killed or kill others just so they can show off their face on social networks. The others are reckless and disrespectful near artworks and show no appreciation at all. I know infinity mirror room looks appealing for a selfie, but you could at least watch where you’re going and look around you instead at your phone.

[via Artnet]

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  • Kambis

    This is why I really like street art. It has a life span and you can get as close to it as you wish without some security yelling at you. Furthermore its value is usually not measured in dollars. In my option every peace of art with an astronomical price tag is highly overrate. We should rather enjoy it and don’t bother too much when something is destroyed, new art will always be created/recreated.

  • Accident or not, the bozo should’ve been charged.

  • heat_fan1

    My only problem with the criticism is that it assumes this person would only have lost their orientation and stepped on the pumpkin if he was taking a selfie. Sure, selfies can lead to accidents, but so can walking. In a room of infinity mirrors, it’s not very difficult to lose one’s orientation.

    Would this be news if someone tripped and broke it? Maybe. But I suspect we wouldn’t be criticizing the person in the same way. Either way, around valuable art, everyone should be extra careful.

    • “[…] But I suspect we wouldn’t be criticizing the person in the same way.”
      Agreed ,,,

      And, sure the “MAN” did indeed damage the “ART” but it was “THEIR” room (at least it could be argued) that caused his loss of orientation and it was that loss that led to the destruction! Sure given the lack of evidence to say otherwise we are left open to assumptions therefor we might assume it was the act of taking a selfie that caused the loss of orientation. Ether way an “assumption” is NOT a fact!

  • I can’t imagine how this makes the artist feel :(

  • The article should identify the selfie idiot so people can flood all his other selfies and throw some shade his way.

    Shame this idiot into never taking a selfie again!

  • A sculpture in Lisbon of a Portuguese king with 125 years was totally smashed because of the same kind asshole. Stupidity has no limit.

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