Author | Elizabeth Zito
“Of course this is why art vandalism is the ultimate burn. It’s a criticism of societal structures.”
It’ s not cool to like Jeff Koons.
The Koons retrospective at the Whitney Museum has caused a reaction of huffs, shrugs, and eye rolls amongst my fellow art makers and enthusiasts. It’s not just his goonie face we can’t stand, it’s what he represents, a pop art god running a mega art factory, pumping out work worth millions that seems so detached from anything a human could create. When the picture of Istvan Kantor’s vandalism popped up on my newsfeed last week, next to the Jeff Koons iconic “Rabbit” piece, I had a minor anxiety attack. Is the work okay? It was, sweet relief. The giant X in blood red paint, a signature of Kantor (art name Monty Cantsin) was assigned to the wall. This allowed me to give Kantor two thumbs up for proper museum delinquency.
This type of museum behavior seems to be occurring more frequently and often crossing the line into art vandalism. While we all often struggle to get our artistic voices heard, the purpose of the museum is to share and educate and defacing a work of art is a big time no no.
Recently at a contemporary art museum that I may or may not be employed by, it came to our attention that someone had been photographing themselves naked in different galleries and posting them on Instagram #nakedatthemuseum. The prank, in my opinion not a particularly creative or interesting one, did give me a chuckle as it seemed harmless enough. Then there was the vandalism. The participants of this naked tomfoolery tagged their names across some of the artwork. Nope, sorry, not cool. And you know what, the amount of people that decide to tag artwork at said museum is quite surprising, and thus, the idea itself, not particularly original. But my interest has been sparked, what drives someone to this type of behavior at a museum?
My thought process immediately goes to two extremes. First let’s recount Lazlo Toth’s 1972 vandalism on the Pieta. At the age of 33, Toth attacked the statue while yelling “I am Jesus Christ” removing Mary’s arm, nose and damaging much of the statue in 15 blows. Toth was immediately placed in a psychiatric institution (Istvan Kantor was also immediately placed under psychiatric evaluation after his removal from the Whitney Museum). Toth remained institutionalized for two years, his criminal charges were dropped. In late January 2014, a picture of a child climbing on a Donald Judd installation at the Tate Modern went viral. Art lovers around the world were furious. The parents of the child stated “Our nine year old was just being anti-establishment”. Way to fight the man nine year old kid. The fact is, this type of behavior outrages people, and rightfully so. Art making represents expressions throughout history. We may know what happens factually in terms of historic documentation, but art represents what people were feeling. If we tolerate a blatant disregard for that, we are destroying the history of humanity.
Of course this is why art vandalism is the ultimate burn. It’s a criticism of societal structures. It’s a government protest. It’s also an easy way to get a little fame. Ai Wei Wei knew this when he smashed a Han Dynasty Urn, and Maximo Caminero knew this when he smashed an Ai Wei Wei vase. Of course these protests or vandalisms never have anything to do with the art or artist themselves, but at times I wish it they did. Wouldn’t it be funny if we all started ruining art we didn’t personally like, chaos would ensue, the creative world would be destroyed.
Istvan Kantor was released after his psychiatric evaluation and no charges were filed against him. He went out for a drink after on the Lower East Side. Kantor has devoted his life to doing this type of work. Performance, vandalism, cultural criticism. He founded a movement called Neoism, you can google it, it’s about what you’d expect. Perhaps though, that is why his hijinks did not offend me as an artist or a museum employee, he’s been doing it for years, he’s a professional. I haven’t made it to the Koons retrospective yet, but I am looking forward to going. After all, who doesn’t love a good show.
