Ouch! In London, Art Hurts

A high-profile installation at the Tate Modern has won critical praise and drawn crowds, but Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth 2007 has also caused trouble, the London Times reports. Some 15 people were injured in a month while viewing the work, a crack in the floor of the gallery large enough to gobble up a toddler.

The museum rejected plans to install a transparent cover over the crack, created to symbolize racial hatred. Guards are supposed to be watching unsuspecting spectators, but a spokesperson says the Tate won't be erecting any barriers. "Physical protection measures which would normally be applied to a gap of this nature are not deemed appropriate due to its artistic nature," says a security official. (More art stories.)