Featured Statue's toes broken off by tourist taking a selfie.

A visitor wanted to take a selfie in the lap of the original plaster version of the beautiful Antonio Canova statue of Paolina Borghese Bonaparte and broke her toes off:


https://news.artnet.com/art-world/selfie-destruction-canova-museum-1899185?utm_content=from_artnetnews2&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EU afternoon newsletter for 8/4/20&utm_term=EUR Daily Newsletter [AFTERNOON]

Why oh why do people want to take selfies too close to works of art or even on top of them.

 

IMO they should be held financially liable for the cost of restoring the damage. Vanity and stupidity together are a dangerous combination. Reminds me that there has been an uptick in people falling off of cliffs taking selfies in the past few years...

 

More selfie destruction:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-selfie-fails-of-2018-1416028

This is one of them:

 

Plus tags!!!

 

Get out the krazy glue and get busy!

 

In the list of destructive agents threatening art and artifacts (light, humidity, insects, etc.), human stupidity is right up there near the top of the list.

 

Absolutely.

 

All the hoards of entitled, expectant, self-interested people are why we can't have nice things as a society.

 

It can get even worse, parents filming their kids destroy art, watch and weep:

 

ooohhh filming the two little angels having fun at the museum

 

This is such a real issue. I don’t know the answer as IMO there’s a huge difference between vandalism and sheer stupidity. I’ve been a museum art docent in multiple institutions over the years and one of the biggest issues is that so many institutions do not have the budget to have enough security in the galleries and/or don’t want to “distract” from the public’s experience by roping off fragile works or using signage.

Sadly, damage like this happens all the time. I had a huge back and forth with a curator over requesting “Do Not Touch” signage in front of a glass piece that was constantly being touched leaving fingerprints which ruined the experience as it obviously told the viewer that there was glass in place rather than an “open” hole.

Nothing was done as the curators felt that signage “broke the magic” so I guess better to screw up the piece.

 

That was not atypical but nonetheless nauseating. I should write a book on the horrors I’ve seen in art museums over my life as well as the attitude that some give when gently corrected.

Young children can’t all be expected to know the rules but when parents show no common sense whatsoever it’s another story and the worst offenses I’ve seen are committed by adults, not kids.

 

those folks should not be allowed to have phones..........or kids !!

 

Beyond agree!

 

I have often thought that museums would be fine places if visitors were not allowed.

 

I really don’t obviously believe that but I do believe that museum guests need to be given an idiot sheet of rules upon arrival with PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE ART AND PLEASE WATCH ALL CHILDREN in RED at the top of the sheet!

 

I was being honest. Having worked in museums myself, I found it very enjoyable during the after hours when it was just me and the artifacts.

 

When we toured Buckingham Palace (the Queen was away at the time and tours were being given) all the rooms with the wonderful art collections were roped, one would have had to go under or over to actually touch the pieces. I was quite ecstatic to be "just this far" from a real Degas, Chagall and other Grand Masters I have heard of and learned a bit about all my life. I cannot fathom the sheer idiocy it takes to disregard the value, not in currency but in historic terms, of these things. Makes my blood boil!

 

Every museum docent deals with guest idiocy pretty much every time they’re in the galleries.