Ai Weiwei vase worth $1m broken in local artist protest
The Ai Weiwei exhibition has been shown in other parts of the US
A
Florida artist is facing criminal charges after deliberately dropping a
vase by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in an apparent protest.
Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal mischief after breaking the $1m (£600,000) vase on Sunday in Miami.
Police say Mr Caminero told them he broke the art work in
protest at the Perez Art Museum Miami's failure to exhibit work by local
artists.
Ai Weiwei was detained in 2011 by China during a crackdown on dissent.
The museum is holding an exhibition of the Chinese artist's work until mid-March.
A security guard told police officers that Mr Caminero picked
up a coloured vase that was part of a floor installation, and when told
to put it down, smashed it on the floor, according to a police
affidavit.
While the Florida artist said he would hold a press conference on Tuesday to explain the act, he told the Miami New Times that he indeed destroyed the vase in protest.
"I did it for all the local artists in Miami that have never
been shown in museums here," he told the newspaper. "They have spent so
many millions now on international artists."
Mr Caminero said he acted spontaneously, inspired by Ai Weiwei's own art.
The vase he picked up is one of more than a dozen painted in
bright colours and are described by Ai Weiwei as originally made during
China's Han dynasty.
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.
"I saw it as a provocation by Weiwei to join him in an act of performance protest," Mr Caminero told the New Times.