The $6400 Kiss

[3113]

Looks like a kiss is not "just a kiss" if you plant it on a work of art in France.

Woman Tried for Kissing Twombly Painting

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A woman who planted a lipstick-laden kiss on an all-white painting by the American artist Cy Twombly went on trial Tuesday, telling the court she had committed an "act of love" — not a crime.

Rindy Sam, a 30-year-old French artist, faced charges of "voluntarily damaging a work of art." The painting is worth an estimated $2,830,000 and restorers have tried to remove the lipstick smudge from the bone-white canvas using nearly 30 products — to no avail.

"I didn't think. When I kissed it, I thought the artist would have understood," Sam told the court in the southern French city of Avignon, describing it as "an act of love."

Prosecutors, however, want Sam to pay a $6,400 fine and take a class on good citizenship. The verdict was set for Nov. 16.

And yes, you're reading that right by the way. The painting is pure white. Now I certainly don't condone what this woman did--it's never right to graffiti someone's artwork and she certainly should make restitution for doing that, however "artistic" her own impluse...but are you telling me the artist can't repair a pure white painting? That instead they need to try every cleaning product under the sun to remove the lipstick? Am I missing something here or can't the guy just, er, paint over the lipstick? It's a pure white painting for heaven's sake! Look, here it is, the one on the right!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44168000/jpg/_44168180_kisspainting_afp203b.jpg​

The Mad Kisser had earlier said that she "smudged it [the immaculate white canvass] with her lipstick" because she "wanted to make it even more beautiful." She argued that "This red stain is testimony to this moment, to the power of art."

 

[Equinoxe]

She definitely has to pay for what she has done: loving a Cy Twombly painting should carry a fine.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Cy should be proud-- his dadaist work inspired a dadaist reaction.
This woman has a hell of a sense of humor--
I say we start a fund-raiser to pay her fine for her. I betcha there are six thousand four hundred art lovers each willing to shell out one dollar for the entertainment!

 

[taco_neck]

I wonder what brand of lipstick she uses. Mine doesn't even last all night.

 

[rgraham666]

Ah yes. The famous 'ghost milking a white cow in a blizzard' painting.

Yet another 'expert' showing off his 'expertise' to his fellow 'experts', and people who believe they are 'experts'. In my opinion.

I'll cheerfully cough up a buck to pay her fine. If just for the entertainment value.

 

[slyc_willie]

Does this mean I can post a story on Lit in white font?

 

[JamesSD]

Have I got a deal for them.

I'll replace their all white painting, not for $2,830,000. Not even for $2,000,000. Not even for $1,000,000.

No, for the low, low price of $100,000, I will paint an all white painting of equal or greater quality, and send it to them. SHIPPING INCLUDED!

What a deal!

 

[3113]

No, for the low, low price of $100,000, I will paint an all white painting of equal or greater quality, and send it to them. SHIPPING INCLUDED!

Oh, yeah? Well, I'll do it for half that price AND include a full set of steak knives!

 

[JamesSD]

Oh, yeah? Well, I'll do it for half that price AND include a full set of steak knives!

Curses!

I'm not sure I can beat 50K. I mean, I'd have to buy the canvas, and the rollers to paint it white...

 

[TheEarl]

Curses!

I'm not sure I can beat 50K. I mean, I'd have to buy the canvas, and the rollers to paint it white...

Don't feel bad; she's using it as a loss leader. It's part of a plan to gain their trust and sucker them into buying an unmade bed full of condoms and bloody underwear and claiming that it's a genuine Tracey Emin.

The Earl

 

[Byron In Exile]

Looks like a kiss is not "just a kiss" if you plant it on a work of art in France.


And yes, you're reading that right by the way. The painting is pure white. Now I certainly don't condone what this woman did--it's never right to graffiti someone's artwork and she certainly should make restitution for doing that, however "artistic" her own impluse...but are you telling me the artist can't repair a pure white painting? That instead they need to try every cleaning product under the sun to remove the lipstick? Am I missing something here or can't the guy just, er, paint over the lipstick? It's a pure white painting for heaven's sake! Look, here it is, the one on the right!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44168000/jpg/_44168180_kisspainting_afp203b.jpg​

The Mad Kisser had earlier said that she "smudged it [the immaculate white canvass] with her lipstick" because she "wanted to make it even more beautiful." She argued that "This red stain is testimony to this moment, to the power of art."

Is it the one on the right, or the one on the left?

http://images.scotsman.com/2007/10/10/art.jpg

"Before, right, and after: Reproductions of the American artist's work untouched and after it was modified by Rindy Sam. Picture: Getty Images"

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1617642007

Sadly, from what I've seen of his art, this had to have been his best work. Clearly, he could never improve on a blank canvas and he must have realized that in an inspired moment. I don't know if the big red spot is an improvement or not, but if he doesn't like it, he could easily make a replacement for a couple hundred bucks and toss the original.

 

[SeaCat]

This reminds me of when I went to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. One of the pieces on display looked incredibly like the artist had lain a hite sheet of canvas down, then rolled a Dirt Bike Tire over it.

Of course my father just had to make a snide comment and we were then entertained by a half hour lecture about the art and artist. The Molmen giving the tour finished her tirade by telling my father that he would never get it. (To which he agreed.)

I'm no artist and have never claimed to be one, yet how can one claim so much for a simple line of any color drawn directly across a piece of paper?

Angst my ass, give me a nive landscape or a beautiful nude any day.

Cat

 

[glynndah]

Okay. The article says she kissed it. How big are that woman's lips?

 

[tolyk]

Okay. The article says she kissed it. How big are that woman's lips?

I was JUST about to ask that too! I mean that's one massive looking lip print

 

[slyc_willie]

I was JUST about to ask that too! I mean that's one massive looking lip print

No kidding! Was she kissing the painting, or giving it head?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Can this be serious? Is this "work of art" nothing more than a canvas covered with featureless white paint? If it is, then why bother to repair it? Just take another piece of canvas and cover it with white paint also.

ETA: I just realized that the garage door in my former residence must have been worth even more millions than this "work of art" if that is what it was. It was also fesatureless white paint, although it was on wood instead of canvas.

 

[3113]

Is it the one on the right, or the one on the left?

http://images.scotsman.com/2007/10/10/art.jpg

"Before, right, and after: Reproductions of the American artist's work untouched and after it was modified by Rindy Sam. Picture: Getty Images"

Hm. Here's where I got the image from: artwork smoocher

You'll see that they point out, quite clearly, that it's the plain white canvass on the right that got smooched. But from the article you quote, it seems she didn't "Kiss" the painting. Rather she got out her lipstick and actually created a "kiss" image on one of two white canvasses, using her lipstick as she might a crayon. If that's the case, well...I can see why they're having trouble getting it off. I was really wondering how kissing the canvass could have left a mark so difficult to erase.

Can anyone clear this up? Did she actually lean in and kiss the painting, or did she scribble on it with lipstick? Were there two white canvasses, or one red-marked and one plain?

EDITED to add: every article I can find says she just kissed the white painting. Which makes me seriously doubt that the left picture is the one she kissed.

 

[Byron In Exile]

Hm. Here's where I got the image from: artwork smoocher

You'll see that they point out, quite clearly, that it's the plain white canvass on the right that got smooched. But from the article you quote, it seems she didn't "Kiss" the painting. Rather she got out her lipstick and actually created a "kiss" image on one of two white canvasses, using her lipstick as she might a crayon. If that's the case, well...I can see why they're having trouble getting it off. I was really wondering how kissing the canvass could have left a mark so difficult to erase.

Can anyone clear this up? Did she actually lean in and kiss the painting, or did she scribble on it with lipstick? Were there two white canvasses, or one red-marked and one plain?

EDITED to add: every article I can find says she just kissed the white painting. Which makes me seriously doubt that the left picture is the one she kissed.

They don't actually "point out" that thing, since it would have to be an obvious fact to begin with, but they do claim that the picture on the right is the affected one. With regard to your edited comment, once a wire service picks up a story, it will be copied a thousand times with variations added for effect, so quantity has no relation to quality.

There seem to be two original articles about the event: one from the BBC which you quoted originally, and the one from The Scotsman which I quoted. It may be that the description of her actions being a "kiss" was Rindy Sam's attempt to minimize her defacement of the painting, and the quotes around the word "kiss" got dropped somewhere along the line between news service re-quotings.

It's a bit of a puzzle, and I even tried to get information from the Lambert Collection site, which had a page on "Vandalisme" that didn't seem to have any information that could clarify this question.

However, I did find a Globe and Mail article that, while it seemed to be the basic AP story, had a photograph that was somewhat more informative:

http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/images/20071009/wartkiss1009/_done_1009twombly_400big.jpg

The caption is: "Agnes Tricoire, lawyer for the plaintiffs, presents a reproduction of the lipstick smear by Sam Rindy, who vandalised a €2-million artwork by U.S. artist Cy Twombly in Avignon, France. (Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty Images)" Full article

It looks very like the pattern of the spot on the left picture in the BBC image, although the caption of the BBC picture says that the defaced picture is the one on the right.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I'm such a non-elitist that if she had done that to my white canvas, I would consider it an upgrade, and charge more for the painting.

 

[Chantilyvamp]

I read it where it said 'lipstick-laden kiss' . If it really was from just a kiss from her lips I now want to know how much makeup that woman wears! I have a sudden image of clown makeup.

 

[scheherazade_79]

Can't they cover it up with a bit of Tipp-ex?

Or just get a sheet of white A3 paper to replace the original? I'm sure no one would be able to tell the difference.

 

[neonlyte]

The value is less in the object than the philosophy leading to the objects production. One shouldn't necessarily decry the 'white board' because it is white. If you want to criticise Twombley's work, do it from a basis of understanding why a 'white canvas' was painted. Once you understand that, you can say whether or not you like it. Unlike destroying a printed book with crayon, the accused did not mark a reproduction but the original, it as if someone altered your original work submitted to lit by changing the sex of a character because they enjoyed him/her in your last story. I think at $6400 she's getting off lightly.

 

[3113]

The value is less in the object than the philosophy leading to the objects production. One shouldn't necessarily decry the 'white board' because it is white. If you want to criticise Twombley's work, do it from a basis of understanding why a 'white canvas' was painted. Once you understand that, you can say whether or not you like it. Unlike destroying a printed book with crayon, the accused did not mark a reproduction but the original, it as if someone altered your original work submitted to lit by changing the sex of a character because they enjoyed him/her in your last story. I think at $6400 she's getting off lightly.

Fair enough...but did she *kiss* it or draw a kiss shape on it with lipstick? That's what we really want to know

 

[fieryjen]

So is her name "Rindy Sam" or "Sam Rindy"?