Britto Sculpture Vandalized Again in Miami Shores
Let me first start by saying that we do NOT condone defacing of private property. As much as we may have our own personal take on what deserves to be regarded as art, this is no way to express it.
A Britto sculpture by the Miami Shores Country Club pool was found vandalized for a second time today, with the words “Meaningless Bliss” and “error”. It is obvious that someone wants to make a point, but their approach to freedom of expression has crossed the line.
Last month, this same Britto sculpture in Miami Shores was vandalized and we posted a photo on our sister site, MiamismPix. Needless to say, this caused quite a stir and the Miami art community was not afraid to voice their opinions.
Jordan Melnick, from Beached Miami responds in one of the comments,
“vandalism sucks”, and a lot of people consider Britto’s omnipresence on the Miami landscape vandalism. Who decided this guy should define the Miami brand? On the other hand, defacing a possession resting squarely on private property — not cool.
A Beached Miami reader by the name of Alma says,
I’m glad.
I’m so sick of his so called art all over the place.
vandalism, who cares. When “art” work it outside in a public or private area there are consequences that it can be damaged either by the weather or by the people, it’s part of the art.
The Miami New Times wrote a thought provoking article entitled Britto Sculpture Vandalized With Words “Not Art”,
As Miami continues to emerge as a serious art center, the city’s infatuation with the colorful yet shallow work of pop artist Romero Britto continues to be a source of embarrassment and frustration for some. Usually that frustration emerges in derogatory jokes or blog comments, but an unknown vandal has taken it a step further.
The Britto controversy will undoubtedly continue, but I wish this tagger would find a better way to voice his/her opinion.
It doesn’t look like vandalism towards Britto’s work as much as it seems like a statement on Miami Shores Village itself. If it’s this easy to spraypaint something so prominent twice I hope the tagger continues this message of shallow suburbanism all over the village!
@myangeldust – totally disagree with you – it’s an attack on Britto and has nothing to do with Miami Shores. There is no way or reason MS would have to police a sculpture in a public place. I’m just curious since this is your second hate comment against Miami Shores – do you reside in Miami Shores? have you had any particular issues?
The stenciled graffiti says “Meaningless Bliss Error”. It could mean the artwork itself though I don’t know Britto’s inspiration for his work. It could also be about the city the art resides in. It reads as a comment on suburbia, if subtext was intended. Since Miami Shores is a bit “archaic”, as someone previously noted, this location would be as suitable as any other for such a message. It’s something I noticed, and have no idea what the vandal intended.