Hipster smashes $1M dollar artwork to protest museum for not showing local artists

[Chingylol]

A Florida artist is facing a criminal charge after police say he smashed a $1m vase at Miami’s new art museum in what appears to be a form of protest.

Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal mischief after Sunday’s incident at the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). According to a Miami Police Department arrest affidavit, a security guard told officers that Caminero picked up a colored vase by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. When told to put it down, the security guard said Caminero smashed it on the floor.

A police affidavit says Caminero told officers he broke the vase to protest the museum’s lack of local artist displays. Caminero, a painter who lives in Miami, declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. He said he will have an afternoon news conference Tuesday.

[markos82]

Is that vase made of gold when it cost 1,000,000$

[Deleted]

$1m for that crappy green vase?

[Deleted]

There's other ways to protest than to destroy someone's work/property that they might've spend hours on. Hope he gets some serious punishment..

[Notchris]

There's other ways to protest than to destroy someone's work/property that they might've spend hours on. Hope he gets some serious punishment..

Maximum 5 years in prison and a $1000 fine for the charges.

Not sure how they'll handle the cost of the vase.

[durrtygoodz]

Destroying some ones work is just a scum bag move

[Jakexe]

If he calls it performance art does it cancel out the crime?

[Chrysia]

If he calls it performance art does it cancel out the crime?

No, because performance art is when you do it with your own shit.

Those complaining about the price, the artist is what makes it cost so much. He's a high profile Chinese dissident, which makes anything he touches worth a shitload in the art world.

[Zecora]

Hope he can pay...

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No, because performance art is when you do it with your own shit.

Unfortunately, that is sometimes quite literally true. "Art" is...weird.

[Thelxi]

What a loss.

[Gheld]

Appraised value and actual value are two different things.

And more often than not in the art world, pieces of art are over appraised by astronomical amounts so that rich donors can defraud the government out of tax money, because the tax deduction for your donation goes by the appraised value and not the value paid.

Look it up.

I would call it petty vandalism. Otherwise you set a precedent whereby anybody who is a victim of petty vandalism could just claim that their property was part of a priceless art exhibit. And sorry 'Murica, your prisons are crowded enough with petty criminals.

[Kalis]

Ai Weiwei is only famous due to being a Chinese political dissident. His art is pretty meh.

His art was smashed by someone for political reasons.

"Political hipster's art smashed by hipster in political protest."

[Krommm]

Haha, someone mad his work sucks. That said, trivial bland crap that is overpriced.

[DarkTZeratul]

Yes, because vandalism is sure to get people to listen to you.

[Gheld]

Ai Weiwei is only famous due to being a Chinese political dissident. His art is pretty meh.

His art was smashed by someone for political reasons.

"Political hipster's art smashed by hipster in political protest."

That probably actually raises it's value to 2 million dollars.

[Deleted]

What's ironic to me, is that the artists work he destroyed isn't shown at all in his homeland.

So that adds a double-take for me when he whinges his work isn't displayed locally.

[KBWarriors]

"Hipster"
"51"

There's middle aged hipsters? Upon further reading, I found out he resides in Miami... well then.. not much to see here.

Seriously, is there something in Florida's water supply down there? They might get a judgement on him but they aren't going to score much. The guy's an old starving artist who's probably eating off ramen noodles.

[Gheld]

What's ironic to me, is that the artists work he destroyed isn't shown at all in his homeland.

So that adds a double-take for me when he whinges his work isn't displayed locally.

See and art is all about the story behind it. So by destroying a part of this art exhibit the protester inadvertently added to it's story. Ironic.

[Kalis]

That probably actually raises it's value to 2 million dollars.

Weiwei should exhibit the fragments of the vase and call it "Xenophobia". It would symbolise the different troubles that political dissidents face in a new country.

Then insure it for $50 million.

[Deleted]

Guess the Hipster didn't like the fact that someone taking the time to actually make something is getting more fame and money than him shitting in a sleeping bag and calling it an outcry against conformity.