I’m not sure it’s fair to describe something as “dangerous” and as having “killed” people when you’re talking about technicians hired to safely move or install something.
By that definition pretty much any object is “dangerous.”
Right, in order to fairly describe this man's artworks as any more dangerous than average based on their entire functional lifecycle we'd need to evaluate, for example, how many people were killed while producing the marble blocks used by sculptors such as Michaelangelo, or how many people died as a side effect of exposure to toxic compounds (e.g. cinnabar (red), cobalt (blue), lead (white)) while producing pigments for painters such as Rembrandt.
There is a clear difference between the dangers incurred by an artist (e.g. an artist using toxic pigments) and an artist endangering their employees (models, assistants, etc).
Similarly, there is a difference between the dangers incurred by an artist and the dangers incurred by anyone deeper into the supply-line (e.g. in the mining of toxic compounds to be used in paint/pigment).
The artist who taught me sculpture died as a direct result of employing asbestos in his work. He was an art student when he did so, and the information that could have saved his life was not then public knowledge.
One of the hallmarks of Serra's work is precisely danger. Stand in person inside of his work and tell me otherwise. This was a knowing gamble on his behalf.
> By that definition pretty much any object is “dangerous.”
Fair point.
However, like any employer an artist has a responsibly towards their employees. I hate to say this, but there is an inevitable credibility attached to art artist's work that results in an employee's death.
The painting Ophelia by Millais required a model sit in a bath of water for extended periods of time. From the article:
> The model, Elizabeth Siddal, a favourite of the Pre-Raphaelites who later married Rossetti, was required to pose over a four month period in a bath full of water kept warm by lamps underneath. The lamps went out on one occasion, causing her to catch a severe cold. Her father threatened the artist with legal action until he agreed to pay the doctor's bills.
At art school, this was presented to us as a romantic feature of the work, rather that the outrageous abandonment of an artist's responsibly towards their workforce.
Hard to say, but the likelihood is that they were. Most 'blue chip' artists employ technicians that travel around the world to install and repair their work. This may be mediated through their dealer.
I mention repair as a lot of contemporary art requires ongoing maintain, Julian Schnabel's employs full-time a team who trot around the globe repairing his famous plate portraits.
Regardless, I would feel ethically responsible for anyone who installs my work. FYI: most exhibitions require that an artist define 'installation instructions'.
I'm more speaking concretely than theoretically: do we know he employed them? Even if an artist defines instructions, that doesn't mean that they'll be followed.
By that definition pretty much any object is “dangerous.”