Abusing a Work of Art

1957-J no.2     oil on canvas     Clifford Steel

Wow! Talk about art and emotions. 

Reportedly, a 36 year old woman was accused of causing $10,000 worth of damage to a painting created by the late Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still. The painting, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J no.2," valued at more than $30 million, was exhibited at the recently opened Clyfford Still Museum in Denver.

A police report stated that the woman punched and scratched the painting, pulled her pants down to slide her buttocks against it and urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas.  She was charged with felony criminal mischief and held on bond since the incident in late December.

Still is considered a very influential American post-World War Two abstract expressionist artist. Still died in 1980. The city of Denver worked with his widow, Patricia, to secure the single-artist museum. 

I’ve written articles on the emotions created by art, including a recent article titled “Abstracts: The Love - Hate Art”. But the incident of abusing Still’s painting takes emotions to an unfathomable level of absurdity. We don’t know why or what triggered this absurd display of passion, but even though I believe art can stir emotion, I’d guess Still’s painting an innocent victim of chance.

Hey, I’m not exactly crazy about the piece myself, but a simple “I don’t like it” should suffice.