Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Step on a crack (UPDATED 2X)

Fifteen visitors to the Tate Modern have been injured since the opening of Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth, a large crack in the floor which, according to ARTINFO.com, "widens as it runs the length of the museum's 548-feet-long Turbine Hall" and is "intended to symbolize racial hatred and division." The museum "has positioned staff to monitor visitors around the hall, posted warning signs in the gallery, and distributed leaflets warning of potential injury, but four of the 15 accidents, some of which resulted in minor injuries, have nevertheless been reported to government authorities."

Art News Blog offers an explanation.

UPDATE: Ed Winkleman "can't imagine a museum taking such a risk" in "the highly more litigious U.S."

UPDATE 2: Insurance lawyer George Wallace: "Brings a [w]hole new meaning to the phrase 'Fall Art Season,' eh?"