A wall of the Nasher Sculpture Center, with the phrase Black Lives Matter.
In recent days, several Dallas museums, Northpark Mall, and at least one work of art sustained damage and graffiti as demonstrators took to the city’s streets. Protests began after George Floyd, an African American man, died in police custody a week ago on May 25 in Minneapolis. Since then, protests and demonstrations have expanded to many states across the country, and internationally.
Among the museums that were affected: The Crow Museum of Asian Art and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science both sustained broken windows and more. An interview in the Dallas Morning News with the Crow’s Director Amy Hofland reads: “…the attack on the Crow began around midnight, when people picked up chairs provided for outdoor seating and used them to break 10 windows. She said two more windows had bullet holes and another was broken by rocks, which left gaping cavities near the museum’s Flora Street entrance.”
Damage to Crow Museum of Asian Art on Flora Street in Dallas Photo Credit: Nasher Museum’s Jill Magnuson while inspecting damage in the area. (Jill Magnuson / Nasher Sculpture Center)-via Dallas Morning News
The Dallas News also shared a statement from the Perot Museum, which reads in part: “Our nation is hurting. That is first and foremost on the minds of all of us at the Perot Museum. That said, we can confirm that during the night of May 31, 2020, the museum was vandalized. Windows and a door on the Field Street side were broken, and the plaza doors also were damaged. We suffered some additional property damage, but no injuries have been reported.”
As for the Nasher: “On Saturday we had some minor damage to public windows, the window near a loading dock was more severely damaged and compromised, and some graffiti was sprayed on sidewalks. Last night, when the windows were boarded up, the external walls were graffitied,” says Lucia Simek, the Museum’s communications manager, in an email to Glasstire.
The “Eye” sculpture by artist Tony Tasset, on the lawn of Dallas’ Joule Hotel downtown, was spray-painted with the phrase “NOW UC US GF,” evidently including the initials of George Floyd.
According to ABC news, at least 140 cities across the country have put into police custody citizens protesting the death of Floyd.
1 comment
Of all the mindless art/public art vandalism, I actually think the eye works (hope it’s not hard to restore, but a real statement, especially in Dallas)