In April 2025, two visitors to the Palazzo Maffei museum in Verona, Italy, landed themselves in hot water after they took a photo of a crystal-encrusted sculpture titled Van Gogh’s Chair. The man sat on the chair, which was a carefully preserved piece, and the artwork collapsed beneath him. The entire incident was caught on the security cameras, and the two got away from the museum before they could be apprehended by the security guards. The museum has called the police now, labeling the incident “every museum’s nightmare.” This bizarre event has provoked controversy: was it a spontaneous work of art, or simply a crime? As much as it may seem to be amusing or surreal, I think that it was fairly clearly an act of negligence, not art.

Audience participation has had a powerful influence on the history of modern art. Performance artists like Marina Abramović have consciously blurred the line between viewer and artist. But there is a world of difference between intention and invitation. Van Gogh’s Chair was meant to be looked at, not sat upon and vandalized. There were no placards inviting audience participation or involvement. It was a fragile, crystal-encrusted sculpture, presented under the standard museum disclaimer of “look, don’t touch.” The people were not collaborators in an act of creation. They were inconsiderate and inattentive, using the sculpture as a prop for a selfie.

Others have tried to romanticize the event by calling it “feeling like a performance,” even quoting artist Nicola Bolla, who made the chair. But that does not make it so. The destruction of the art did not convey a message or inform us of an artistic truth we had not known before; it damaged an irreplaceable work, contravening the artist’s intent and the museum’s purpose to safeguard cultural heritage. A performance would imply planning, awareness, and often the artist’s or institution’s approval. However, I believe that it was just an act of being irresponsible and careless.

If we start calling every accidental art destruction a “performance,” we will be encouraging reckless behavior in cultural institutions. Museums are not just there to display beauty, but to protect it, too. “This is a nightmare for any museum,” said Vanessa Carlon, showing how tragic destroying these pieces of art really is. We who go to museums have a responsibility to respect boundaries, both physical and symbolic. Before posing on an exhibit or taking a selfie, we must all ask ourselves: is this honoring the art, or harming it?

Moving forward, museums must clearly mark what can and cannot be touched, while still encouraging respectful curiosity. Additionally, as museum visitors, we must do our part and be safe and more careful when we’re near precious works of art.