when children run wild...

[Ken Gargett]

not having any kids, hard for me to know which way to go with this. on one hand, nothing worse than when parents allow brats to run around causing chaos and havoc. but seriously, a gallery has a piece like that not properly secured? in the end, you have to think that if a young kid is going to run around a place like that unsupervised then something bad will happen. the headline says it all. why were the parents not looking?

 

5-Year-Old Boy Hugs, Then Destroys, a $132,000 Sculpture When His Parents Aren't Looking

BY MICHELE DEBCZAK

 

JUNE 18, 2018

 

ISTOCK

A 5-year-old boy's playful mistake may end up costing his parents a small fortune. As ABC News reports, the boy knocked over and destroyed a valuable piece of art on display in the lobby of the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. Now, the city's insurance company is asking them to pay for it.

The parents were preparing to leave a wedding reception as their son was filmed running around the building's lobby. At one point in the security footage, he can be seen stopping to embrace a sculpture, titled Aphrodite di Kansas City, which causes it to fall towards him and onto the ground.

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Taft's Pie Had A Security Team

 

According to Overland Park's insurance company, the piece was damaged irreparably by the fall. It had been listed at a price of $132,000, and a few days after the incident, the parents received a claim asking them to cover the entire cost.

“You’re responsible for the supervision of a minor child […] your failure to monitor could be considered negligent,” the letter read.

The couple disputed the accusation, instead blaming the community center for not better securing the sculpture. As for the chances of the Aphrodite di Kansas City being repaired or rebuilt, local artist Bill Lyons said it isn't likely. He spent two years creating the original piece, and after declaring it permanently destroyed, he told ABC News he doesn't have the drive or capacity to make a new one.

It isn't just rambunctious 5-year-olds who have been known to ruin expensive art. Grown-up museum visitors, whether they're tripping over untied shoelaces or getting in position for the perfect selfie, can be just as destructive.

[oliverdst]

Running wild

 

[El Presidente]

11 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

According to Overland Park's insurance company, the piece was damaged irreparably by the fall. It had been listed at a price of $132,000, and a few days after the incident, the parents received a claim asking them to cover the entire cost.

“You’re responsible for the supervision of a minor child […] your failure to monitor could be considered negligent,” the letter read

So at no time did anyone ask the question......."do you reckon it could get knocked over?

I doubt my insurance company would cover car theft if I left it open with the keys in the ignition. 

 

 

[Ken Gargett]

2 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

So at no time did anyone ask the question......."do you reckon it could get knocked over?

I doubt my insurance company would cover car theft if I left it open with the keys in the ignition. 

 

 

true but keys in the car invites trouble. a gallery may have a genuine belief that visitors will act in an appropriate manner. which would not include kids running amok. but yes, surely secure the thing. 

then again, it may simply be that the kid was expressing his criticism of the piece in the only way he knew. 

[El Presidente]

Just now, Ken Gargett said:

true but keys in the car invites trouble. a gallery may have a genuine belief that visitors will act in an appropriate manner. which would not include kids running amok. but yes, surely secure the thing. 

then again, it may simply be that the kid was expressing his criticism of the piece in the only way he knew. 

True 

This wasn't a 5 year old with a knife cutting up artwork. He hugged a statue....he's  5 and hardly Stallone.  

The gallery is lucky the kid wasn't  hurt or the $100K wouldn't cover their legal bill. 

[Ken Gargett]

i don't think that stallone is stallone these days.

but very true, had the kid been injured, this would be a very different argument. be interesting what his folks would be saying then. 

the moral of the story is that the next time you vandalise something, drop it on your foot afterwards. 

[PapaDisco]

Awww, that little scalawag!  So cute!   Bring back spanking and let the boy walk! 

There's actually art in Kansas City?  And it's worth $132K??   Sounds more like someone over insuring their house and then leaving lots of gasoline soaked rags around hoping for a little payday.    

[Colt45]

8 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

but seriously, a gallery has a piece like that not properly secured?

Acording to Overland Park's insurance ompany, the piece was damaged irreparably by the fall. It had ben listed at a price of $132,000, and a few days after the incident, thearents received a claim asking them to cover the entire c

He could have just as easily pulled one of the paintings off the wall and smashed it on the ground, like one could do with artwork in pretty much any gallery in the world. Take him to a Ferrari dealership and let him run around there - just as much a playground....

[Puros Y Vino]

11 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

true but keys in the car invites trouble. a gallery may have a genuine belief that visitors will act in an appropriate manner. which would not include kids running amok. but yes, surely secure the thing. 

then again, it may simply be that the kid was expressing his criticism of the piece in the only way he knew. 

True but galleries do tend to take reasonable measures to keep free standing objects from falling.  Smaller objects get the putty treatment, famous paintings get mounted into protective glass to keep hands off and limit the damage of camera flashes (think  Mona Lisa in the Louvre).  If something costs that much you do your best to secure it while minimizing the effect on the pieces' esthetics.  After all, those of you with cigars in the 1000's would not store your cigars outside of humidor right? 

[joeypots]

12 hours ago, El Presidente said:

 

I doubt my insurance company would cover car theft if I left it open with the keys in the ignition. 

 

 

I thought exactly this until it happened to a friends daughter. She left the keys in the car and it was stolen. Guess what? They got paid. That's in Massachusetts, mind you. Your results may be different.

[LGC]

Simply roping off the area might have helped...

 

[scap99]

I always think of the Mall Rats escalator when I see parents just letting their kids do unsafe stuff.

 

[CigarAsh]

This actually happened in my neighborhood. It's about 5 minutes from my house. 

It's not an art gallery. It one of our city community centers for the use of the city residents and anyone who joins. It has a gym, outdoor swimming pool, meeting rooms that local business can rent out and in this case, use for a wedding reception. And for some  reason it has a room for showcasing local artwork. Probably part of the public law where 1% of any public construction job has to be for "artwork" (I use quotes around "artwork" because they spend a lot of money on a lot of crap and call it art). 

They're not exactly an art gallery used to exhibiting work and thinking the process through. Just a bunch of city employees trying to meet some bureaucrats mandate to show off some local art. 

I feel bad for the woman. Something seemingly small gets blown up by today's social media. And yes, @PapaDisco, there's art in KC - but not much of it in this little out of the way location. The $132,000 pricetag is the artists overinflated value for his work. That's his claim for what it's worth, not what anyone would actually pay for it. 

[JamesKPolkEsq]

Oh god, that stinks! I feel so bad for everyone involved... 

[MooseAMuffin]

Not far from where I live. Cant believe the story has taken off like this. Not sure who to blame. Mom not watching a kid? The place not securing a freestanding sculpture? 

Hopefully they can call it a freak accident and move on. I'm doubting it's really worth $132k anyway. 

[gweilgi]

23 hours ago, El Presidente said:

This wasn't a 5 year old with a knife cutting up artwork. He hugged a statue....he's  5 and hardly Stallone.  

 

On the upside, a 5yo kid with tackling skills like that would be a welcome addition to the Wallabies....