(this kid belongs on fluxlist...)
$1.5 million painting gets 12-year-old's gum
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; Posted: 12:03 p.m. EST (17:03 GMT)
A 12-year-old boy stuck his gum on a masterpiece (1:32)
DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- Apparently, one 12-year-old visitor to the
Detroit Institute of Arts doesn't think much of abstract art.
The boy stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting called "The
Bay" by Helen Frankenthaler, leaving a stain the size of a quarter,
officials said.
The boy, who was not identified because of his age, was part of a
school group that was visiting the museum last week when officials
said he took a piece of gum out of his mouth and stuck it on the 1963
painting. (Watch why the boy put the goo on the canvas, see the stain
-- 1:32)
The gum stuck to the painting's lower left corner and did not adhere
to the fiber of the canvas, officials told the Detroit Free Press.
But it left a chemical residue about the size of a quarter, said
Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art.
The museum's conservation department is researching the chemicals in
the gum to decide which solvent to use to clean it. The museum hopes
to make the repair in two weeks and will keep "The Bay" on display in
the meantime, she said.
"Our expectation is that the painting is going to be fine," Hart said.
Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended
from the charter school and says his parents also have disciplined him.
"He is only 12, and I don't think he understood the ramifications of
what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the
severity of it now," said Kildee.
