From the "Weird Stuff Happens" department: a woman starts pounding her fists on a Paul Gauguin painting at the National Gallery. She also tries to rip the painting off the wall. All because she hates homosexuals -- ironic, since Gauguin was a pretty straight guy, if you know what I mean. (According to the criminal complaint, she said, " I was trying to remove it. I think it should be burned ... I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you.")
No damage, apparently, because of a clear plastic cover. (Museum authorities have removed it, so they can check it over more carefully.)
Does this mean we soon won't have the pleasure of getting close to any paintings in a public museum? Sigh...
2 comments:
This is very sad. A couple of months ago I spent an absolutely wonderful day
at the Seattle Art museum getting my nose as close as possible to a whole collection of Picasso's works. I could see every stroke of his brush. I could tell if he painted them on an easel or laying flat. How sad that a crazy has to take that experience away from future artists.
sharyn
I thought about this too, after an up-close-and-personal visit with some paintings at Chicago's famous art museum. I LOVED seeing the brushstrokes...you could see how the colors worked together, too. (A real boon for working with fabrics.)
I really hope this won't be the tenor for the future -- keeping us away for "protection" -- but it seems inevitable.
Thanks so much for writing.
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