12 yr old sticks gum on painting

[KIISQueen]

DETROIT - A 12-year-old visitor to the Detroit Institute of Arts stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting, leaving a stain the size of a quarter, officials say.


The boy was part of a school group from Holly that visited the museum on Friday, officials say. They say he took a piece of Wrigley's Extra Polar Ice gum out of his mouth and stuck it on Helen Frankenthaler's "The Bay," an abstract painting from 1963.

The museum acquired the work in 1965 and says it is worth about $1.5 million.

The gum stuck to the painting's lower left corner and did not adhere to the fiber of the canvas, officials told the Detroit Free Press. But it left a chemical residue about the size of a quarter, said Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art.

The museum's conservation department is researching the chemicals in the gum to decide which solvent to use to clean it. The museum hopes to make the repair in two weeks and will keep "The Bay" on display in the meantime, she said.

"Our expectation is that the painting is going to be fine," Hart said.

Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended from the charter school and says his parents also have disciplined him.

"Even though we give very strict guidelines on proper behavior and we hold students to high standards, he is only 12 and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the severity of it now," said Kildee.

[Memo]

12 years old? Kid totally did it on purpose.

[blueindian]

12 years old? Kid totally did it on purpose.

:stupid:

[ProMinx]

The kid probably thought that was where everyone else had stuck there gum. I mean...look at the thing. For $1.5 million I could be an abstract (read: untalented) artist too.

http://www.school-portal.co.uk/platforms/21311/2698/CustomPages/55636/2225_original.jpg

[cadetevon]

What a little punk.

[gwilks98]

I'm with Prominx. The kid probably improved the painting. It's not like he fell down the stairs and smashed a bunch of chinese vases.

[clutchy]

I'm with Prominx. The kid probably improved the painting. It's not like he fell down the stairs and smashed a bunch of chinese vases.


hehe, :splat:

[oblongmelon]

He's lucky that I'M not his mother..little bastardo!..I'd wring his neck.

[bachviet]

What a punk.

[renovation]

heard the story yesterday . and im not a art person .but ya the kid did wrong and needs his B U T T kicked . but if that is what the art works looks like that ( ProMinx ) posted im thinking that quarter size stain the gum left may of improved the painting .

[Merlin]

By age 12 I think the kid really knew what he was doing. 12 year olds are not that stupid.

Fortunately these museum folks are really really good at restoring/repairing paintings. By the time they are done with it it will probably be as good as new.

And as for the folks who thing the stain might inprove the painting...your statements could quite possibly be the most ignorant things I ever seen on this site. :disa: If you don't like a piece that's fine but to simply insult it is just plain wrong. You should all feel shame.

[Devhux]

Hey, at least it wasn't as bad as Mr. Bean. :)

(Anyone other than me see that movie?)

[ShawnLee]

Hey, at least it wasn't as bad as Mr. Bean. :)

(Anyone other than me see that movie?)Hahaha. He drew a happy face over Whistler's Mother!
:hehehmm:

[PoorAvatar]

By age 12 I think the kid really knew what he was doing. 12 year olds are not that stupid.

Fortunately these museum folks are really really good at restoring/repairing paintings. By the time they are done with it it will probably be as good as new.

And as for the folks who thing the stain might inprove the painting...your statements could quite possibly be the most ignorant things I ever seen on this site. :disa: If you don't like a piece that's fine but to simply insult it is just plain wrong. You should all feel shame.

Not sure if you meant that sarcastically but give me a break. Art is subjective and there's nothing to be ashamed of...

except calling that art. :hihi:

[Houdini]

Hahaha. He drew a happy face over Whistler's Mother!
:hehehmm:

Hah! Never seen it. But I have seen the real Whistler's Mother, which is in Paris of all places. It's actually a big but overrated piece.



And as for the folks who thing the stain might inprove the painting...your statements could quite possibly be the most ignorant things I ever seen on this site. :disa: If you don't like a piece that's fine but to simply insult it is just plain wrong. You should all feel shame.

:stupid:

Though I'm not much into abstract art myself, I understand that it is important to many.

[Burzhui]

and this is exactly the reason why, i will beat my kids

[Lolita]

By age 12 I think the kid really knew what he was doing. 12 year olds are not that stupid.

Fortunately these museum folks are really really good at restoring/repairing paintings. By the time they are done with it it will probably be as good as new.

And as for the folks who thing the stain might inprove the painting...your statements could quite possibly be the most ignorant things I ever seen on this site. :disa: If you don't like a piece that's fine but to simply insult it is just plain wrong. You should all feel shame.

:agree: Liking the piece or not doesn't change the fact that the kid had no respect for his surroundings.

[thresher]

Picture removed since another image from that website came up. Websites get annoyed with their bandwidth being used, so please use your own webspace to host pictures or one of the uploaders kindly provided by G|A? members. Thank you.
What does Whistler's mother have to do with anything?
:smash: