MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida artist is facing a criminal
charge after police say he smashed a $1 million vase at Miami’s new art
museum to protest what he called its favoritism for international rather
than local art.
Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal
mischief after Sunday’s incident at the Perez Art Museum Miami.
According to a Miami Police Department arrest affidavit, a security
guard told officers that Caminero picked up a colored vase by Chinese
dissident artist Ai Weiwei. When told to put it down, the security guard
said, Caminero smashed it on the floor.
Caminero told officers he
broke the vase to protest the museum’s lack of local artist displays
and because "the museum only displayed international artists’ art,"
according to the affidavit.
Caminero, a painter who lives in
Miami, declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. He said he
will have an afternoon news conference Tuesday.
"I’m going to answer all the questions," he said.
The
police affidavit lists the value of the vase as $1 million, quoting the
museum’s security officials. Criminal mischief can be a third-degree
felony punishable by up to five years in prison when the property
damaged is worth more than $1,000.
"As an art museum dedicated to
celebrating modern and contemporary artists from within our community
and around the world, we have the highest respect for freedom of
expression," the museum said in a statement released late Monday. "But
this destructive act is vandalism and disrespectful to another artist
and his work, to Pérez Art Museum Miami, and to our community."
Caminero
had a recent showing at the JF Gallery in West Palm Beach that offered
patrons a chance to meet him and "view a sampling of the work from his
30-year career as an artist."
According to the Perez Art Museum
Miami’s website, the vase is one of more than a dozen that are part of a
floor installation. Each vase is partially painted in bright colors.
Behind
the installation are a series of three black-and-white photos showing
Ai holding a vase and then letting it drop to the ground, smashing into
pieces.
The "Ai Weiwei: According to What?" exhibit runs through
March 16 at the museum. Museum officials confirmed the incident in a
Monday email, and noted that an upcoming show will feature a local
artist, Miami’s Edouard Duval-Carrié. The Haitian-born artist’s show,
beginning March 13, is titled "Imagined Landscapes."
A sculptor,
designer and documentary maker, Ai has irked Beijing by using his art
and online profile to draw attention to injustices in China and the need
for greater transparency and rule of law. He was detained for 81 days
in 2011 during crackdown on dissent.
After his release in June
2011, Ai’s design firm was slapped with a $2.4 million tax bill, which
he fought unsuccessfully in the Chinese courts.
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