What an asshat. I don’t even know what to say.
Goddamn. :mad:
I know what to say: he’s twelve goddamn years old! We don’t let him vote, drive, have kids, sign contracts, or do pretty much anything else that requires responsibility, because he’s a child, and children make dumb decisions.
Yes, he made a dumb decision. It’s not like he punched someone in the mouth or anything. He’s being punished for his dumb decision, which is how kids learn the consequences of dumb decisions.
If he were an adult, it’d make sense to pit him. But kids do dumb things. That’s their job.
Daniel
Clearly.
I’m not going to support vandalism of anyone’s property – but goddam that’s a stupid looking painting!
Here’s a picture of it. It sounds as if the museum will be able to clean it, and the kid is learning the consequences of acting stupid. No permanent harm done, as long as the kid learns from the experience.
Daniel
Could the artist be contacted to ask her if the painting looked better with the stain?
Eye of the beholder and all that, but 1.5 million for that? I’m in the wrong bizness… 
I can’t blame the kid-he probably thought is was just spattered paint. i was recently in an art museum, looking at a jackson Polloc 'painting". To me, it looked like paint drippins at a paint store mixing desk. A few years back, in the Netherlands, they were having an open air art show. A truck had just dropped off several abstract scupltures, and they were waiting on the curb to be moved. Along comes the local trash collection truck, and hauls the sculpture off! 
That’s one butt-ass ugly painting. Still, vandalism needs to be discouraged. The kid should have been required to spend a few dozen hours in community service. Ideally, cleaning up the messes made by other vandals.
It looks like Julius Caesar as a Blue Meanie, smiling down on us.
Not a picture or a value that will summon up a lot of sympathy.
But as others have said, a dumb kid did a dumb thing. The museum may send a cleaning bill to the Parents. Not a tragedy.
Jim
Therapizing, are you? 
Actually, I agree that this would be a perfect response; in fact, I’d couple it with having him pay, at minimum, part of the labor costs of cleaning it up. Either take it from his allowance, or have him pawn some valued toy in order to make the payment.
Maybe his charter school could allow him to work after-hours with the school’s custodial staff for a few weeks to earn the money for this.
Daniel
I remember when I went on field trips when I was his age (or thereabouts), we received a very stern warning about behaving. I can only assume this kid received the same sort of warning. Do kids just not follow directions anymore?
Is the kid/his family being forced to pay for restoration work on the painting? I didn’t see a mention of that in the OP’s cite. That would seem fair.
I sort of like the painting; it’s comforting. Like a Rorschach test where you see a big blue womb.
Kids these days, I’ll tell ya. GET OFFA MY LAWN!
Ahem. I strongly suspect that when you were his age, there were also some kids who didn’t follow directions. You were once an obnoxious young twerp, too. We all were.
Daniel
As a former museum guard who has seen how badly people of all ages behave in museums, and has also seen gum placed on a painting, (also a modern art piece, a painting by Barnett Newman) I join heartily in this pitting. Just because he’s a child doesn’t mean he shouldn’t know not to so much as touch, let alone vandalize, the art.
For those who like to make snarky comments about modern art–including the ever popular: “I could do that!” I say now what I longed to say when I worked in the museum, but couldn’t: "Well, smartass, if you can do that, why haven’t you?!"
I’m just trying to picture a kid with shit-eyes. On second thought - no, I won’t.
Susan
Oh noes a buttass ugly painting had a little dot on it for a few days!!11 NOOOOOoooOOo!!!1 (/cuts self)
BTW how does one become “shit-eyed?” I’ve heard that you can be so full of shit that your eyes turn brown, but that doesn’t seem to follow here.
I have, but sadly my mommy hasn’t saved any of my fingerpaintings.
You, I assume, did nothing stupid as a child? what pray tell was your secret?
I agree with this. It’s really not my thing, but neither is The Simple Life. There’s a lot of art out there that I think is crap; as long as it makes someone else happy, that’s cool.
Daniel
What the hell with the “no big deal” attitude?
You don’t like the painting? And that’s relevant how?
The kid is twelve, not five. Twelve is more than old enough to know that other people’s property is to be respected. It’s more than old enough to know that the proper way to dispose of gum is to throw it into the trash. It’s more than old enough to absorb the “Don’t. Touch. ANYTHING.” warning he doubtless received from both his teacher and the museum guide.
If that was my kid, I’d kick his ass.
Exactly.
Of course it’s easy to say “He’s just a kid, kids do dumb things” but it wasn’t your painting. Many of the paintings in Museums are on loan from someone’s private collection. It means something to them, as either an investment or perhaps something less tangible.
Regardless, he’s 12 not 6. They were instructed on how to behave and yet little Johnny Turdstein couldn’t keep his mangey paws of the painting. It’s not even like it was a curious kid who wanted to touch it and accidentally ruined it with skin oil, no, this shithead stuck gum on it.
Sorry, but I’m not as forgiving as some of you regarding this incident.