Artist smashes $1m Ai Weiwei vase
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
Miami police have arrested a local artist who they said destroyed a $1 million vase by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei to protest that the city's newly opened museum is only displaying international art.
Dominican-born Maximo Caminero, 51, has been charged with criminal mischief after picking up one of 16 brightly painted vases at the Perez Art Museum Miami and throwing it to the ground when confronted by security, according to a police report.
He told police he broke the vase to protest that the museum "only displayed international artists," according to the police report.
Caminero, reached by telephone, told Reuters he is a painter and lives in Miami. He said he planned to host a news conference on Tuesday (February 18) to explain his actions and declined to comment further.
He told the Miami New Times he had no idea the vase was so valuable, and said he was a fan of Ai.
"I didn't know that it was that amount,"
Miami police have arrested a local artist who they said destroyed a $1 million vase by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei to protest that the city's newly opened museum is only displaying international art.
Dominican-born Maximo Caminero, 51, has been charged with criminal mischief after picking up one of 16 brightly painted vases at the Perez Art Museum Miami and throwing it to the ground when confronted by security, according to a police report.
He told police he broke the vase to protest that the museum "only displayed international artists," according to the police report.
Caminero, reached by telephone, told Reuters he is a painter and lives in Miami. He said he planned to host a news conference on Tuesday (February 18) to explain his actions and declined to comment further.
He told the Miami New Times he had no idea the vase was so valuable, and said he was a fan of Ai.
"I didn't know that it was that amount,"