Mishap
Fingering Fontana
A hole in exactly the wrong place
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Image: Unsplash
Incident ReportCOA / MISHAPS
Accidental Damage Rating
- Repair Cost
- Varies
- Curator's Blood Pressure
- 86%
- Embarrassment Level
- 8/10
- Recovered?
- Usually
- Selfie Involved?
- No
Lucio Fontana became famous for making slashes in canvases — which has not stopped visitors from repeatedly poking their fingers through the cuts to investigate, damaging the works further.
Fontana built his reputation by piercing his canvases with deliberate, elegant slashes. That has never been an invitation for the public to help. Over the years, several of his works have been damaged by museum-goers who assumed the openings were accidents and reached in to check.
The irony has become almost legendary among conservators: artworks intentionally cut by the artist are repeatedly injured by visitors trying to understand them. Sometimes curiosity really does leave a mark.