Kid sticks wad of gum on $1.5 million painting

Boy sticks gum on $1.5-million Detroit museum painting

DETROIT (AP) - A 12-year-old boy stuck a wad of gum to an abstract painting, leaving a small stain on the $1.5-million work by U.S. painter Helen Frankenthaler.

The boy was visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts with a school group from a public charter elementary school in Holly, Mich., on Friday when he took a piece of gum from his mouth and mashed it on The Bay, a painting from 1963, officials said.

The gum did not adhere to the fibre of the canvas but left a small blot of chemical residue on the painting's lower left corner, said Becky Hart, assistant curator.

The museum is researching solvents that might clean the chemicals and will keep The Bay on display in the meantime, Hart said.

"Our expectation is that the painting is going to be fine," she said.

Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended from the school and his parents have also disciplined him.

"Even though we give very strict guidelines on proper behaviour and we hold students to high standards, 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," Kildee said.

I just think kids are a helluva lot more disrespectful and just more ignorant than they were even just 10 years ago.

It just kills me when the woman said,"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," .

At twelve years old, not only did was he aware of what he was doing, but the little brat is probably laughing at the fact that he may have ruined a 1.5 million dollar painting and all that happened is that he got suspended. What a f*cking joke!

Comments?

That's f*cking discraseful If that had happened 10 years ago 😐

Originally posted by KharmaDog
I just think kids are a helluva lot more disrespectful and just more ignorant than they were even just 10 years ago.

I agree.

How stupid can one kid be ?

At 12 years old he must know that putting gum on a painting is wrong..

I remember at my old school before we went into anything like that, galleries, museums, etc. our teachers would make sure we spat gum out. That being said we weren't technically even allowed to chew gum.

That kid's a sinister ******* to do something like that, and not to mention that's just nasty that he would take the gum out with his fingers and stick on to a painting. Where the hell were the supervisors or etc?

Originally posted by silver_tears
Where the hell were the supervisors or etc?

That does not concern me near as much as the actions of the kid, who should know better, and how light it was seemingly taken by the Academy director.

Bring back the cane. ✅

You do realize that residue from the gum will increase the value exponentially now when they tell this story and how compassionate they were with the child 😈

Originally posted by KharmaDog

It just kills me when the woman said,"[B]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," .

[/B]

That attitude is so annoying. I can only assume that the people who say it were particularly idiotic as children.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
That attitude is so annoying. I can only assume that the people who say it were particularly idiotic as children.

And completely idiotic as adults.

Originally posted by KharmaDog
I just think kids are a helluva lot more disrespectful and just more ignorant than they were even just 10 years ago.

It just kills me when the woman said,"[B]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," .

At twelve years old, not only did was he aware of what he was doing, but the little brat is probably laughing at the fact that he may have ruined a 1.5 million dollar painting and all that happened is that he got suspended. What a f*cking joke!

Comments? [/B]

He's a kid. And who cares? The painting has a stain on it now. Oh no!

Marcel Duchamp would be proud.

Originally posted by meep-meep
He's a kid. And who cares? The painting has a stain on it now. Oh no!

Marcel Duchamp would be proud.

😆

I still think it's pretty disrespectful, because it is someone else's property. If someone, a kid or not, were to stick their filthy gum on my art I'd beat them with a stick.

Originally posted by KharmaDog
I just think kids are a helluva lot more disrespectful and just more ignorant than they were even just 10 years ago.

It just kills me when the woman said,"[B]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," .

At twelve years old, not only did was he aware of what he was doing, but the little brat is probably laughing at the fact that he may have ruined a 1.5 million dollar painting and all that happened is that he got suspended. What a f*cking joke!

Comments? [/B]

A $1.5 million dollar painting destroyed?

Jesus Hold the press, alert the President, Guard the Queen... who cares? Whats the big deal? A painting has a bit of gum on it. Oh No. We only have four zillion other pieces of art in this world,

but while we are talking about the dirgracefulness of destroying things...global warming? I

OH, I live very close to Holly. Been to that Museum too, and many kids just don't show the respect that is due in many things like this.....Probably was a call for attention, or a dare....This kind of attention seeking goes on a lot.....

awww but he's just a little baby and doesnt know any better 🙁

the kid deserves a good crack in the mouth. and i dont mean a disciplanary slap, but a solid man-sized knock your 2 front teeth out punch.

All you people talk about respect. Why should children be expected to respect something which they know nothing about? Why not just try and lower teenage pregnances and abuse before complaining about a painting. Or have we reached a stage were art is more important than our kids?

There is no greater sin then that of destroying art.

That kid is a punk!

It's amazing what parents let their kids get away with today. I see kids jumping on display beds at a furnature store, all while the parents ignore it. Poor sales guy is like sweating bullets....

Originally posted by Grand Moff Gav
All you people talk about respect. Why should children be expected to respect something which they know nothing about? Why not just try and lower teenage pregnances and abuse before complaining about a painting. Or have we reached a stage were art is more important than our kids?

so kids should be allowed to destroy masterpieces because they also get knocked up? wtf are you babbling about? has anyon e here expressed this to be more important than teenage pregnancy or abuse? f***ing kmc grandstanders are dime a dozen these days. "ZOMG YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE UPSET BY THIS!!!!!11111"

I would like to see what the painting looks like before I comment, maybe the attached gum actually improved it