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Today’s press conference by Miami artist Maximo Caminero, the man who destroyed part of Ai Weiwei’s “Colored Vases” (2006–12) at the Perez Art Museum Miami, never happened. However, BBC has uncovered unverified video of the incident, which is available on their website and we’ve summarized as a GIF.

YouTube video

There is no public information available as to the identity of the person who captured the video of the incident.

In June 2012, an artist vandalized a Picasso at Houston’s Menil Collection, and the incident was recorded and posted on YouTube. Many people continue to suspect that the person who recorded the Houston event — and has since removed the video and closed the related account — was connected to the vandal.

Hrag Vartanian is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic.

11 replies on “Video of Man Smashing Ai Weiwei Vase Emerges”

  1. First, I don’t know why the BBC reporter finds the destruction of one person’s art by another FUNNY. Second, I don’t know why the security guards didn’t rush this guy before he did damage to anything else. And third, when does the horrible trend of looping GIFs end???

    1. Yes, it’s tough to weep much over the “loss” of a piece of largely conceptual art. Works by guys like Gonzalez-Torres are constantly being “consumed” and replaced.

      Hopefully Weiwei puts a call into one of his assistants to drizzle some paint over another vase and puts this tragedy behind us.

      In the meantime, another art vandal gets his media soapbox.

  2. Destroy all the art! I don’t think Ai Wei Wei understands that this is a political protest, but then, the people that are being protested against rarely understand the reasoning. I think we should go into all museums and destroy everything. Time for a new generation of art that is less focused on the individual and more focused on the collective.

  3. There is one thing that is overlooked about the irony of the whole pottery smash. Ai Weiwei
    made a name for himself by smashing a Ming Dynasty Vase that he took from a display at a Museum in China. The Vase was considerable Priceless.

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