Woman Who Kissed Painting With Red Lipstick Gets Community Service
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A kiss is just a kiss — except when it isn't.
A woman who puckered up and left a red lipstick stain on an all-white painting by American artist Cy Twombly was convicted Friday of "voluntarily damaging a work of art" and ordered to do 100 hours of community service.
The court in Avignon, southern France, also ordered Rindy Sam, a 30-year-old artist of Cambodian origin who lives in France, to pay damages. She must hand over euro1,000 (US$1,465) to the painting's owner, euro500 (US$730) to the Avignon gallery that showed it and euro1 (US$1.50) to the painter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The painting is owned by collector Yvon Lambert. He had asked for more than euro2 million (US$2.9 million) in damages, which included the value of the painting and the euro33,400 (US$47,000) restoration cost.
During the trial, Sam argued that she had committed an "act of love" — not vandalism. "I didn't think," she said last month. "When I kissed it, I thought the artist would have understood."
Sam was taken into custody after she kissed the painting at an exhibit in Avignon on July 19.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twombly is known for abstract paintings, some of which use repetitive lines, graffiti, letters and words. Born in Lexington, Virginia, in 1928, Twombly has lived in Italy for nearly a half-century. He won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale in 2001.