We were very excited to bring O. and his 3-yr-old sister J to the Walker to see the new installation of the permanent collection. (The crashed car is gone, but the dolphin is still in her nook). We went on the first Saturday of the month, and the kids loved all the gallery activities: they made wire sculptures, they did a seek-and-find. Then we got saw Olafur Eliasson’s mirror sculpture, Convex/Concave, with its softly whirring motor. J was instantly enthralled: she just froze and watched it move, back and forth, back and forth. Then, suddenly, she walked straight up to the sculpture, and poked it.
She TOUCHED it!!! I remember yelling and grabbing her. I think the guard said, “Please don’t touch,” but I was a little traumatized thinking my sticky-fingered kid had just poked the perfect mirrored surface of a sculpture that probably cost as much as our house.
Now what? They didn’t kick us out, they didn’t shut down the gallery. I realized that I don’t really know what happens AFTER your kid touches the art. I don’t want it to happen again, but do wonder what the consequences are — that way, maybe I won’t feel so worried about bringing J back.
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