A few months ago, a man visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum was caught kicking a 17th century Florentine painting. Despite the noble efforts of a museum designer, who was nearby at the time, to pull the man away, he was able to get a hole in the painting with 6 kicks before he was finished with his felony. (Yes, kicking a hole in a painting will get you charged with "felony damage to property").
The painting was Ottavio Vannini's The Triumph of David(1620). As is not uncommon for this particular Biblical subject, the youthful David is shown holding Goliath's head after slaying him in this miraculous battle between giant and boy.
Timothy L. Kubena, 21, our felon (while some years older than David when he performed his feat), however, said he was disturbed by "the painting showing one man carrying another man's head," reports MSNBC.com.
Which leads to an interesting question: Where exactly does a viewer's right to respond end? Obviously Kubena went to far. But what about art critics who metaphorically "kick a hole" in the works of artists? When we ask "What is Art", the response of the viewer inevitably comes up. Had Kubena spent some time thinking about this, and got in line with the right Art Powers that Be, his reaction could have been art in and of itself.
I can see it now: Kubena, great performance/installation artist of the 21st century. In a large open gallery with walls lined with horrific bloody scenes from our artistic history, Kubena could go through, barefooted, tearing down painting by painting and thrusting his foot through each in a frenzied and distrubed state to express the inner turmoil that even classical and cannonized art can have on the innocent museum goer. The performance/installation would end with Kubena lying down on the floor cuddling up to a soft Bougereau scene of innocent children and dappled flowers, obvious peace and serenity enveloping him as the viewer. Then, with Kubena in this state of tranquility, the lights dim and the words "Felony" [pause] "or Freedom" [pause] "of" [pause] [larger letters] "Expression" [pause] "?" light up the littered floor around him.
Now that's art.
