Detail of Christian Boltanski’s exhibition ‘Résistance’ at the Haus der Kunst (photo by @re_daria/Instagram)
Crimes of the Art is a weekly survey of artless criminals’ cultural misdeeds. Crimes are rated on a highly subjective scale from one “Scream” emoji — the equivalent of a vandal tagging the exterior of a local history museum in a remote part of the US — to five “Scream” emojis — the equivalent of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.
Anti-Semitic Vandals Strike Munich Museum
Vandals defaced two installations at the Haus der Kunst in Munich with white chalk, scrawling swastikas over an installation by Christian Boltanski featuring photos of anti-Nazi Resistance fighters arrested during World War II and drawing a Star of David over an installation by Gustav Metzger.
Verdict: A cowardly act made all the more impotent due to the vandals’ use of chalk.
Painter’s Messy Carpet Sold Off
A paint-splattered carpet that had been in painter Angelique Hartigan’s studio in London’s Gipsy Hill Workshops was allegedly put up for sale as one of her original works after she moved to a new space.
Verdict: It was only a matter of time before someone came up with another way to monetize artists’ studios.
Worst Fate for Public Art in Worcester
A total of six sculptures featured in this year’s edition of Worcester’s Art in the Park exhibition have been attacked this summer, most recently with Lisa Simonds’s piece “Silueta” — a lifesize female figure made of plywood piece — being decapitated.
Verdict: Folks in Western Massachusetts are really losing their heads over outdoor sculpture.
Hunters Shoot Up Museum Grounds
Staff at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney, Texas, have found evidence of illegal hunting including deer corn and shotgun shells on the 289-acre wildlife sanctuary over which the museum presides. “We want to be able to keep our wildlife safe and also be able to keep our visitors safe,” Stephanie Jennings, marketing director at the Heard, told NBCDFW. “If we allow hunting here, that kinda goes against our message.”
Verdict: Maybe it’s time the Heard introduce a guns-for-admission trade-in program.
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