A ample porcelain sculpture by nan Chinese dissident creator Ai Weiwei was near shattered Friday aft a man smashed nan artwork connected show astatine a depository successful Bologna, Italy.
Ai shared security footage of nan enactment of vandalism connected his piece, titled “Porcelain Cube,” and video of nan suspect’s arrest extracurricular nan Palazzo Fava depository connected his Instagram pinch a connection to group who destruct art.
“You are virtually ruining nan things that make this world beautiful and cultured. Instead of destroying things successful museums, really astir you spell destruct things really hurting our satellite and societies?” wrote Ai, a vocal professional of nan Chinese authorities who’s been fundamentally exiled from his country.
“Piss connected nan beforehand doors of nan rich, sabotage manufacture that harms america all,” he continued. “Stop destroying our shared history and conflict nan group really oppressing you.”
The information footage shows a man smashing Ai’s blue-and-white porcelain sculpture, past raising nan shards supra his caput earlier being tackled by depository information personnel. His motive remains unknown.
Ai told The New York Times he was shocked personification managed to destruct specified a ample sculpture .
“When I learned that it was my ample porcelain artwork that had been destroyed, I was astonished,” he said. “I ne'er imagined that a portion astir 100 kilos successful weight could beryllium damaged truthful easily.”
Local news outlets and creation publications identified nan attacker arsenic Vaclav Pisvejc, a Czech-born creator known for pulling akin stunts. In 2018, Art Review noted, he attacked renowned creator Marina Abramović astatine a book signing by hitting her complete nan caput pinch a canvas image of herself, saying, “I had to do it for my art.”
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Arturo Galansino, nan curator of nan Ai accumulation successful Bologna, told nan Times he was saddened by nan mislaid creation and dismissed nan vandal arsenic personification seeking recognition.
“He’s a personification that likes to summation attraction disturbing exhibitions and being successful interaction pinch worldwide artists,” he said.
This isn’t nan first clip immoderate of Ai’s creation has been destroyed. In 2014, a visitant to Miami’s Pérez Art Museum picked up 1 of Ai’s vases connected show and threw it to nan ground, shattering it successful an evident enactment of protest.
Ai, too, has destroyed artifacts successful nan sanction of art. In 1995, he photographed himself dropping and shattering a 2,000-year-old Han dynasty urn. In consequence to nan outrage, Ai said: “Chairman Mao utilized to show america that we tin only build a caller world if we destruct nan aged one.”
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