Photo: City News.
This art sculpture caused distress in Vancouver, and the police were summoned.
I do love stories about art interacting with daily life. In today’s article, someone who cared about fellow humans in trouble called police on a sculpture in distress.
Despite the inherent humor of the situation, the Access Gallery director was angry she would have to pay $1,000 for lock repair in the midst of the gallery’s fundraising campaign. The police hadn’t believed a neighbor who knew the figure was not human. They smashed the lock to rescue him.
Cecilia Hua writes at Vancouver City News, “When the director of Vancouver’s Access Gallery received a phone call from police late Friday night, she was alarmed — at first.
“Saghi Ehteshamzadeh says the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) informed her there was someone in the gallery.
“ ‘I’m getting worried as the call goes on,’ Ehteshamzadeh said. ‘I was thinking I had locked the door and had the alarm on. How could someone get in?’
“According to the VPD, a caller reported seeing a person’s feet sticking out from behind a counter and believed medical assistance was needed.
“When police couldn’t get in touch with the gallery, firefighters breached the door to gain entry. But what they found inside was not a human at all.
“The 911 call had been prompted by a sculpture: ‘The Preparator,’ by Alyssa Pierre.
“The piece depicts an art preparator — sometimes referred to as an art handler — kneeling over a crate with their upper body disappearing inside.
“ ‘Every show that goes on display has one or many technicians creating the best display for the artwork, and it’s a work that a lot of times goes unnoticed,’ said Ehteshamzadeh.
“In this case, this unnoticed labor drew a bit too much attention. The break-in cost the gallery close to $1,000 to replace the lock and gate. …
“ ‘One of the close friends of the artist lives across from the gallery. She comes and tells police that this is actually an artwork, and they don’t take her word for it. The work is featured on our website,’ Ehteshamzadeh said. …
” ‘This situation is absurd and could be funny, but it has made us sit with harder feelings around,’ she said. ‘There are people who are actually deserving of this response, and they’re not receiving it. Yet those resources are being spent on non-emergencies.’ “
More at Vancouver’s City News, here. The story was widely cited. See also Hyperallergic, here, and the Art Newspaper, here.
