In Just 30 Seconds, Selfie-Taker Busts Museum's Exhibit

Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin room at Hirshhorn to get added security
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2017 12:04 PM CST
Selfie-Taker Busts Museum's Pricey Pumpkin
A woman walks past the work "All the eternal love I have for the pumpkins" by Yayoi Kusama.   (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Who knew a walk through a pumpkin patch could be so perilous? A visitor to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, tried to take a selfie inside Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's mirrored room full of more than 60 spotted glass pumpkin sculptures over the weekend and fell into one, reports the New York Observer. Luckily, the museum says the glowing pumpkin in the "infinity room"—dubbed "All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins"—only "sustained minor damage" and explains the cost of replacing an individual pumpkin is "negligible." However, "the room was closed temporarily" and "will have increased security and visitor services staff" when it reopens at a later date. ArtNet News notes that a 4-foot-tall pumpkin sculpture by Kusama sold for $784,485 at auction in 2015

It's possible the guest was distracted and failed to notice the low, transparent barrier along a narrow pathway inside the room, which permits only a few people at a time, reports Hyperallergic. It's also possible the visitor was in a rush. Museumgoers are allowed in the pumpkin room for only 30 seconds due to the high popularity of the exhibit, which opened last week and includes six infinity rooms, each making use of mirrors to give the impression that the room has no end. The Hirshhorn describes the exhibit as an "unforgettable sensory journey through the mind and legacy of one of the world's most popular artists" and "one of 2017's essential art experiences." (A selfie damaged a 300-year-old statue.)

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