Safety before art
Actor Shia’s New York project trashed over security fears
The Museum of the Moving Image in New York announced on Friday it has closed a performance art project involving Shia LaBeouf, citing “serious public safety hazards.”
The project involved the actor and others chanting, “He will not divide us”, in front of a camera outside the museum since Donald Trump’s first day as president three weeks ago. It was scheduled to last for four years.
The public was invited by LaBeouf and two collaborators to participate and the performances were live streamed around the clock.
But the museum said in a statement that the installation had become “a flashpoint for violence and was disrupted from its original intent.” Museum officials added that they were proud the museum had launched the “engaging and thought-provoking digital art installation.”
Last month, LaBeouf was arrested after an altercation. And a 21-yearold was arrested last week on assault charges after a participant said the man threw eggs on him and ran.
Police officers were assigned to the location 24 hours a day and, at one point, police filed a report after threats were made through the city’s nonemergency line of a shooting.
On Friday, the hewillnotdivide.us website said the museum had “abandoned the project. The artists, however, have not.” They did not elaborate on the site.