There’s been a video going viral that’s described as a woman taking a selfie at the Los Angeles 14th Factory art gallery . In the process of doing so she accidentally bumps into one the pedestals. This starts a domino effect and the woman knocks over 200,000 dollars worth of art!
When I first saw this headline on YouTube I thought the woman had to be incredibly careless! Then I watched it. There is something comical about it – it’s like a something you’d see in a cartoon. However, is it really her fault this happened? Take a look at the video.
Why The Woman Shouldn’t Take all the Blame for This
Some people blame the woman and bemoan the invention of “the selfie.” However, this room of crowns is one part of a larger art installation that the Los Angeles Times called, “Selfie Bait.” Besides, the same thing could have happened if her friend had been taking the picture. In the video you can that she got the idea to crouch down in front of a pedestal after watching another woman getting her picture taken standing in front of another one. There is a certain logic to her thinking. It’s hard to see the object being featured on top of the pillar while standing in front of it.
More importantly, even the still shot before hitting play looks like an accident waiting to happen. The pedestals, each displaying a crown designed by artist Simon Birch, are entirely too close together! You can see just how narrow the spacing is because of the women in the center of them. Furthermore, these pedestals, with very expensive crowns sitting atop them, clearly weren’t well secured to the floor. They don’t appear to be particularly heavy either. At the end of the video you can see how easily the young woman is able to pick one up.
The commentators at CBS wondered who’s going to end up paying for this. Well, in all likelihood insurance will cover it, but honestly, whomever designed this display is to blame. The entire installation should have been roped off because of those unstable pillar displays. Instead the installation’s design encourages people to get up close – and even to walk between the narrow isles!
Don’t you think this was a recipe for disaster? It’s true that the woman knocks over 200,000 dollars worth of art , but does that mean she should foot the bill? Sound off in the comments!
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