More Weirdness from Wisconsin (2 Stories) - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

The Swede · #1 04-05-2007, 01:32 PM

Man damages Old Master painting at Milwaukee Art Museum

He has history of mental illness, director says

By BOB PURVIS
bpurvis@journalsentinel.com

Posted: April 4, 2007

A man put his foot through a $300,000 painting Wednesday afternoon at the Milwaukee Art Museum and told museum workers later that the image disturbed him.

The 22-year-old Pewaukee man started kicking "The Triumph of David" by Ottavio Vannini as it hung on the wall in the museum's Early European Gallery, said David Gordon, CEO and director of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Painted in 1640, the oil painting depicts the outcome of the biblical tale of David and Goliath, with David carrying the giant Goliath's severed head, Gordon said.
"He was kicking it, aiming his blows at the head of Goliath, and then he pulled it off the wall and started kicking it," Gordon said.
"It happened very quickly. We have guards constantly on patrol in the museum, and he obviously waited until the guard had passed through that gallery," Gordon said.
A museum employee and security guard tried to stop the man from kicking the painting, and eventually he quit striking it, took off his shirt and lay prone on the gallery's floor, Gordon said.
The man told police that the image of Goliath's severed head disturbed him. Gordon said the man had a history of mental illness.
"He was being very calm and very polite (after the attack). . . . By then we had a room full of guards and staff members, and he just lay there until police arrived," Gordon said.
The man was arrested and was being held at the Milwaukee County Jail, police said. He could be charged with felony damage to property.
Police would not identify the man pending the filing of criminal charges.
A charge of felony damage to property carries a maximum sentence of 3 ½ years in prison.
On loan from collection

The painting was on loan to the museum from the Haukohl Family Collection, the largest collection of 17th-century Florentine art in America.
Mark Fehrs Haukohl, a Milwaukee native and art collector living in Houston, made the loan possible, a museum press release says.
The collection has been exhibited in museums all over the world, and the family has a history of supporting traveling exhibitions of Italian Old Master art in the United States, the release says.
The museum's insurance company has been contacted, and the painting will be examined by conservators to determine the best course of action, Gordon said.
Early indications are that the painting may be repairable, Gordon said.
Prior damage at museum

It's not the only instance of vandalism at the museum in recent years.
Vandals sprayed graffiti on the exterior of the Calatrava wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum in May 2005. A man and woman from Milwaukee were sentenced to 60 days in jail for the crime.
A sculpture was damaged at the museum in February 2006 when drunken attendees of Martinifest, a semi-formal event organized by Clear Channel Radio, climbed on the piece.
Gordon said there were few similarities between Martinifest and Wednesday's incident.
"It is a random act of violence . . . and given the fact that museums are in the business of putting art on display, it does indeed happen very rarely," Gordon said. "The museum enters into a contract of trust with the public, and very, very occasionally someone violates that trust."

Fitchburg Mayor Chases Woman After She Pulls Out Campaign Sign

Mayor Wins Another Term

UPDATED: 12:15 pm CDT April 4, 2007
FITCHBURG, Wis. -- Fitchburg's mayor was so upset when he saw a woman pull one of his campaign signs out of the ground near City Hall on Tuesday that he chased the woman's car in his pickup truck.When he called police about the matter, Mayor Tom Clauder was surprised to learn the woman was his opponent's wife, Jessica Nytes.Jeff Nytes said that he doesn't condone what his wife had done, but he thought Clauder was putting his campaign signs in the street right of way, which is against campaigning rules.Jessica Nytes also called police, saying that she was being chased by a pickup truck. She said that it almost ran her off the road.Clauder was re-elected on Tuesday night.

diametricalbenz · #2 04-05-2007, 08:38 PM

Wisconsin isn't boring! There are million mile Saabs, people digging up the dead to have sex with, mentally ill people damaging art in the museum, couples date graffitiing the Calatrava, 7 legged deer, political campaign pickup truck chases, and much more!

I am excited to be in Milwaukee again in 3 weeks.