Surplus Cats

First up we have Timur Serebrykov, a 27 year old security guard at the Carnegie Museum of Art here in Pittsburgh, who was caught on video destroying the painting to the left, Night Sky #2, by Vija Celmins, with his keys.

His response?

“I didn’t like the painting… I’m sorry.”

The Post-Gazette reports:

According to the police affidavit, the painting was damaged on May 16, leaving a “large vertical gouge” down its middle.

Ellen Baxter, the museum’s chief conservator, told police that the art piece was a “total loss.”

There has got to be more to this story and I would like to see the security video of this gouging. Art criticism could not be the motive here. I don’t buy it.

And then there’s the city having healthy 100 year old oak trees in Schenley Park cut down to make the 9th hole in the golf course a clearer shot. No really. The Post-Gazette gives an overview of several other instances of the city’s shady (unshady?) dealings with trees all over town. Uh-oh; trees are the new billboards!