Pinoncelli's Duchamp Attack: Art or Vandalism?

An opinion piece by Frédérique Joseph-Lowery compares French and American media coverage of Pierre Pinoncelli's 2006 hammer attack on Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" at the Centre Pompidou. The New York Times, in a January 7, 2006 article by Alan Riding, titled "The Conceptual Artist as Vandal," recognizes Pinoncelli as an artist. In contrast, Le Monde's January 6, 2006 article by Harry Bellet focuses on the victim—Duchamp's work—and its historical rejection at the 1917 Armory Show. The author argues that the act of damaging art can be an artistic practice, citing precedents: Yuan Cai and Jian Jun Xi jumping on Tracey Emin's "My Bed" at the Tate in 1999, the same duo urinating on Duchamp's "Fountain" at Carré d'Art in Nîmes in 1993, Michael Landy's 2001 "Break Down" destroying his possessions, and the Chapman brothers' 2003 defacement of Goya prints. Pinoncelli's act, for which he was charged with vandalism, resulted in a fine of 37,500 dollars according to the New York Times (later reported as 3 months suspended prison and €214,352 fine). The author notes that the New York Times mentions the term "happening" while Le Monde omits Pinoncelli's appearance in court wearing yellow stars in homage to deported Jews. The piece concludes by contrasting the French and American cultural perspectives, referencing Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer" as a symbol of justice versus Claude François's domestic version. Pinoncelli was sentenced on January 24, 2006.