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| Parents are hit with $132,000 bill after their five-year-old knocks over a glass sculpture while 'hugging' it |
| 2018-06-17 |
| [DailyMail] A boy's parents have been hit with a $132,000 bill after he accidentally knocked over a glass sculpture by hugging it. The boy was at a wedding reception at Overland Park community center in Kansas City, Kansas "The Louvre of Kansas", where Aphrodite di Kansas City, a glass and mirror sculpture, was on display on May 19. Surveillance footage shows him toddling up towards it and wrapping his arms around it while his mother Shannon Goodman and other adults chat on sofas nearby. He accidentally pulled it towards him and it toppled over on to him, causing damage to the back of the figure's head and arms. It left him with scratches on his face. In the video, he sheepishly looked towards his mother after the accident. Now, the artist Bill Lyons wants to be reimbursed for the money he says he has lost because he can't sell it. This is the sculpture the boy knocked over. It is called Aphrodite Di Kansas City and is made of glass and pieces of mirror. The artist says the top of it was damaged when he pulled it over. This is the sculpture the boy knocked over. It is called Aphrodite Di Kansas City and is made of glass and pieces of mirror. The artist says the top of it was damaged when he pulled it over He estimated its worth to be $132,000. Because $133k would be "excessive?" Lyons had loaned the sculpture to the city of Overland Park to put on display. It was the city's representatives who contacted Goodman asking for her to pay. She had expected the sculpture to be much less valuable and was stunned when she received a letter from the city's insurance company. 'It’s clear accidents happen and this was an accident. I don’t want to diminish the value of their art. But I can’t pay for that,' she told The Kansas City Star. She explained that she was saying goodbye to the bride's father when her son wandered off towards the statue but insisted he and his three siblings, who were also there, are always well behaved. 'He probably hugged it. 'Maybe my son hugged a torso because he’s a loving, sweet nice boy who just graduated from preschool.' And he'll never be familiar with the concept of "allowance." A spokesman for the city of Overland Park said it had filed a claim with Travelers, its insurance company. 'The city has a responsibility to file a claim with our insurance company, and we do that any time city property is damaged. City Property, but it is the artist who established value? Must be an interesting contract of sale. 'It will be up to the insurance companies to get this worked out,' they said. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Lyons, the artist, said: 'I want to be reimbursed for the amount of time that I spent on it and for what I think it is worth.' His income tax returns will be an important doc in part establishing value. Unless Mr Lyons has had a recent spurt of popularity. |
| Posted by:Anomalous Sources |
| #8 Looks like a disco ball had some bad cheese and crapped this out. Gallery has fault here; lucky the kid didn't get hurt with some 15 pounds of glass falling on him. High traffic area, high traffic building. Could just as easily been a purse strap or an errant gesture or a drunk step. The gallery should have insurance for transportation and display damage. If I were the insurance provider I would be pissed. If the artist lent the piece without assurances of damage coverage in paper then Bill is an idiot. And Billy, purchaser decides worth. I'd think something like that $20k at best; anything more is additional value because of the artist, the look who I have on display worth. Maybe naming the piece something else would help; dunno. Now the parents' are at fault here too, what monetary and legal is the question. Kid is certainly old enough to know to not go tugging on thing and is lucky he isn't a bowl of soup. They failed to identify risks, and failed to keep track of their large toddler. Not just fighting off rabid bobcat risks, but taking children to a known quasi-art gallery and here they broke something, and now have their financial health in the scales vs. The City of Overland Park. Loser here is going to be Billy when he has his stuff appraised by the insurance company at 1/10th its value, out a product, and an ignominious introduction to the larger stage. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2018-06-17 16:59 |
| #7 Anomalous Sources, I’ve cleaned up the appearance of your in-lines, and added the URL your forgot to paste in the source box. At least I hope that was the correct source — as you hadn’t put it in square brackets at the beginning of the text, I made my best guess. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2018-06-17 16:15 |
| #6 Great chapter in Dr. Peterson's book on child discipline. Every parent should read. |
| Posted by: Regular joe 2018-06-17 12:45 |
| #5 AH? Watch your kids(and yes I have them)Something can be said for DON'T TOUCH KIDDO(teachable moment?) and check previous art work of this guy for prices? |
| Posted by: ranture 2018-06-17 11:10 |
| #4 Some exist solely to serve as warnings to others. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2018-06-17 10:41 |
| #3 In the era of Free Ranging Children With limited to no parental oversight. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2018-06-17 10:32 |
| #2 In the era of Free Ranging Children |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-06-17 08:14 |
| #1 Fix it yourself and shut up. It was a Child and your art is probably shit anyway. |
| Posted by: newc 2018-06-17 02:27 |