Does this come from a lack of cultural literacy?

[Mainecoonmaniac]

To me, this is pretty gross. The total lack of respect for art work in a museum. So what's your take on this?

http://hyperallergic.com/300896/kids-smash-art-at-glass-museum-while-adults-stand-by-filming/

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that in the USA but I wouldn't have expected it in China.

 

[OptiKen]

These things are far less a reflection on the children than they are a reflection on the adults...in particular, the parents.
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???? WHAT HAPPENED TO TEACHING RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, BASIC DECENCY????

 

[Hatchetman]

Probably kids of some high ranking official.

 

[CropDusterMan]

Lest rewind to the 1970's. What would your father have done had he seen you doing this?
I'd have been whipped. A good healthy fear of ones parents keeps you on the straight path through
the formative years. We have gone off the rails. My Dad had a look he'd give, and if you'd been bad
and the look was directed at you, it could make you wet yourself.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

The one good thing is that the Chinese keep the video there and it's being seen everywhere and this serves to shame both the kids and parents (in the U.S. I'm sure such shaming would be considered some sort of abuse and all sorts of lawyers and social groups would protest).

Before seeing the video, I first thought a bunch of teenagers in the U.S. maliciously did it as adults did nothing. This shows that indulgent parents who refuse to reprimand their kids exist everywhere in the world in places where life has become relatively prosperous and free of daily struggle.

 

[Truzi]

My parents would never have allowed me to do something like that. They would have grabbed me before I got past the ropes, and told me why the ropes were there. Around breakable objects owned by other people, I would never have had the chance to do something worthy of punishment.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

That made me very sad. Typically it wouldn't phase me because I've become so jaded after seeing all the little monkeys behave like little monkeys. If I did that my father would have been on my ass like white on rice. And he was a cop in Baltimore so..................

 

[MattKing]

The art work itself could very well appear as a fun plaything to a child who has absolutely no idea what art and an art museum are.

But do the adults have no idea either?

 

[Andre Noble]

My mom would have slapped me so hard, I would have time travelled.

 

[mooseontheloose]

It's not just about cultural literacy. That artwork was surrounded by ropes - do people not understand that those ropes are there for a reason?

Actually, to answer my own question, I know that a lot think the rules don't apply to them. I used to work in a living history museum and we would have certain rooms roped off to protect the artifacts, but also because sometimes the area was not safe (like the second floor). However, I constantly had people going past the rope to see what was there (a dusty old room), unaware that they might have crashing down through the roof due the instability of the floor. Who would have been at fault then? I'm glad I got out of the tourism industry because I really did see the worse of people and despaired for humanity.

I do think things have gotten worse though.

 

[nick_clark]

Lest rewind to the 1970's. What would your father have done had he seen you doing this?
I'd have been whipped. A good healthy fear of ones parents keeps you on the straight path through
the formative years. We have gone off the rails. My Dad had a look he'd give, and if you'd been bad
and the look was directed at you, it could make you wet yourself.

I've got to say, I was never 'whipped', and I didn't have a fear (even healthy) of my parents, but me and my brother never would have done something like this as kids...

 

[Slixtiesix]

I speechless. My main point of concern is not only that they obviously fail to prohibit this behavior, they are even encouraging it!

My parents would never have allowed me to do something like that. They would have grabbed me before I got past the ropes, and told me why the ropes were there. Around breakable objects owned by other people, I would never have had the chance to do something worthy of punishment.

You name it!

 

[mooseontheloose]

I've got to say, I was never 'whipped', and I didn't have a fear (even healthy) of my parents, but me and my brother never would have done something like this as kids...

I don't like the word whipped, but I definitely was disciplined with a belt more times than I can remember. My dad had a belt drawer and we had to choose the belt. My mom preferred disciplining us with soap or having "time outs" (it wasn't called that then) by having me and my brother kneel in opposite corners of the room when we were misbehaving. Regardless of the physical punishments, we were raised to know right from wrong, respect our elders, and to know what was acceptable behaviour both at home and in public. I don't believe in physical punishment, but I know that it is totally possible for parents to instill these values to their children if they take the time to do it and follow through on punishments for bad behaviour.

 

[Richard Man]

China moved 500 million people out of poverty in a span of 20 years, which was a massive undertaking and unheard of. Unfortunately, they also managed to kill the old cultural values, especially during the Cultural Revolution. Then they promote "greed is good, as long as you make money" and the country goes to hell. There are no shortage of video footages of urinating and defecating in public (seriously, wtf?), fake goods including fake food, etc. etc. It is quite sad to see :-/ Most Chinese are still good people of course, but when you have 1.3 billion people, if one person out of a thousand behaves badly, you still would have one million people behaving badly.

 

[removed account4]

the college students who tipped over the balancing rock at garden of the gods
in the 70s probably took snap shots after they did it
(sorry no link, just concrete to hold the rock up that i saw when i was a kid visiting the site in the 70s and
was told by a tourguide kids damaged the site )

world famous landscape photographer ( michael fatali ) burned the delicate arch years ago
and damaged a national monument for a photograph .. he also was convicted of starting fires
at other national parks over the years.

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/oct/20/news/mn-59496

its not just lack of literacy, it has nothing to do with culture,
it just has to do with kids being kids, people being people and people being selfish.

 

[Andre Noble]

I do not blame the kid. He probably thought it was in indoor dangling icicle - we've all broken those of our roofs in winter. The adults are to blame.

 

[RattyMouse]

I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that in the USA but I wouldn't have expected it in China.

Are you kidding? Chinese kids suffer from "Little Price/Princess" syndrome. Parents REFUSE to discipline their kids. It's appalling there, watching kids get away with murder and their parents watching idly by. This is all due to the One Child Policy. Kids are so precious that parents wont do anything that upsets them.

 

[gone]

That horrid piece of "art" got exactly what it deserved. Pity the kids couldn't have given the gallery director the same treatment for their total lack of taste. That's who someone needs to take a belt to :} Let's not get on our high horses here. Yes, the parents were idiots, but the kids were doing what kids do when they see something goofy, they play w/ it. Some people treat art as if it were holy or something. It's just some materials on a wall. While I would be disappointed to see a Corot subjected to this sort of thing, still, it's just canvas and paint. There are far bigger problems in the world than how an inanimate object hanging on a wall is treated.

 

[RattyMouse]

That horrid piece of "art" got exactly what it deserved. Pity the kids couldn't have given the gallery director the same treatment for their total lack of taste. That's who someone needs to take a belt to :} Let's not get on our high horses here. Yes, the parents were idiots, but the kids were doing what kids do when they see something goofy, they play w/ it. Some people treat art as if it were holy or something. It's just some materials on a wall. While I would be disappointed to see a Corot subjected to this sort of thing, still, it's just canvas and paint. There are far bigger problems in the world than how an inanimate object hanging on a wall is treated.

Wow.....just wow.

 

[Frank53]

It's a different culture, that's for shure. They (well, part of them) don't mind having all elephants, rhino's and tigers killed, so I'm not suprised. Beside, as was mentioned before, chinese children are little princes and princesses.
Frank

 

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that in the USA but I wouldn't have expected it in China.

Why not? Chinese kids still pee on the streets, or so I've been told by four different people who've traveled there.

 

[RattyMouse]

Why not? Chinese kids still pee on the streets, or so I've been told by four different people who've traveled there.

I saw far more adults pissing in the streets in China than kids.

 

[CropDusterMan]

That horrid piece of "art" got exactly what it deserved. Pity the kids couldn't have given the gallery director the same treatment for their total lack of taste. That's who someone needs to take a belt to :} Let's not get on our high horses here. Yes, the parents were idiots, but the kids were doing what kids do when they see something goofy, they play w/ it. Some people treat art as if it were holy or something. It's just some materials on a wall. While I would be disappointed to see a Corot subjected to this sort of thing, still, it's just canvas and paint. There are far bigger problems in the world than how an inanimate object hanging on a wall is treated.

Really? Really?? As mentioned above. Wow. I knew this thread would bring out the
contrarians.

 

[Saganich]

That horrid piece of "art" got exactly what it deserved. Pity the kids couldn't have given the gallery director the same treatment for their total lack of taste. That's who someone needs to take a belt to :} Let's not get on our high horses here. Yes, the parents were idiots, but the kids were doing what kids do when they see something goofy, they play w/ it. Some people treat art as if it were holy or something. It's just some materials on a wall. While I would be disappointed to see a Corot subjected to this sort of thing, still, it's just canvas and paint. There are far bigger problems in the world than how an inanimate object hanging on a wall is treated.

There is a middle ground between holy and indecent, perhaps. While I sympathize with your position lack of respect generally beguiles people into participating in far worse actions than art smashing, so a scene like that seems like a portent for the bigger problems in the world. Smashing someones personal or cultural objects is the warm-up to many heinous acts, so its difficult to separate these small acts from the larger ones.