Be careful the next time you try to get into a special position to take a good selfie. A Los Angeles student crouched down in front of rows of pedestals that held crowns in an art exhibit. She lost her balance, setting off a domino effect of falling pedestals and crowns. The artist, Simon Birch, said $200,000 worth of damage resulted. Three crowns couldn’t be repaired, and others were damaged. There is a YouTube video of the falling pedestals and the shocked museum employee holding his head while the selfie taker is trying to somehow put things back in place. The 14th Factory, the non-profit gallery, has no insurance but it did get plenty of publicity from the video. Some museums have already announced they will have new rules about selfies.
Photo: The 14th Factory
What ever happened to self control. Doing what this selfie jerk did was irresponsible & totally their fault. What a vain , thoughtless prig.
I think that it is the museum that at fault .somebody could get hurt bad or worse over the neglect of the museum . IT should be against the law not to have those items mounted to the floor .THAT IS A BAD ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!
This seems entirely the fault of the exhibit/installation designer. People are wandering among the pedestals. The pedestals are obviously not weighted. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
One might want to make a comment about setting up a secure display. One of those could have walked out in a purse or coat. On top of that, clearly none of the pedestals were securely attached to the floor. I think it was more of a trap for the selfie shooter than her fault.
It also says something about carrying insurance on those things that one loans to a museum or gallery. Last night, a car venue that was selling antique and classic cars went up in flames on Old 66 near Stauton, IL. with about 150 of them inside. Since they were there on consignment, every insurance company involved is going to have some sketchy theory why they shouldn’t cover the losses. Betcha.
Quite honestly, I think the Museum is totally responsible for not foreseeing that an accident could occur.
The pedestals were obviously not secured in any way, and if the display was that valuable, they should have considered possible damage.
It didn’t have to be a person…a tremor could have started the chain reaction.
People are unpredictable. When they are involved consideration must be given to possible accidents.