Donna rompe un’opera di Koons da 42mila dollari

Woman accidentally shatters Jeff Koons' $42,000 sculpture

22 February, 2023

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In occasione di una mostra privata all’Art Wynwood di Miami, una donna ha accidentalmente causato gravi danni ad una scultura in vetro dell’artista Jeff Koons del valore di 42mila dollari.

La scultura, parte della famosa serie “balloon dog”, raffigurava un palloncino blu a forma di cane e rappresentava uno dei capolavori dell’artista americano.

secondo i testimoni oculari presenti all’evento, la donna ha toccato l’opera, posta su un piedistallo con il nome di Jeff Koons, probabilmente per verificare se fosse un vero palloncino gonfiabile.

purtroppo, l’opera è caduta a terra e si è frantumata in mille pezzi, causando un danno considerevole per gli organizzatori dell’evento.

per fortuna della signora, comunque, il costo della riparazione verrà coperto dall’assicurazione.

Keywords

in occasione di: on the occasion of – 在…之际

accidentalmente: accidentally – 意外地, 偶然地

rompere: to break – 破碎

la scultura: sculpture – 雕塑

il palloncino: balloon – 气球

toccare: to touch – 触摸

cadere: to fall – 掉落

gonfiabile: inflatable – 可充气的

distruggersi: to be destroyed, fall apart – 被毁坏, 崩溃

avere intenzione di: to have the intention to – 有意图做

danneggiare: to damage – 损害

Grammar

Se + congiuntivo imperfetto
If + imperfect subjunctive

“la donna ha toccato l’opera… probabilmente per verificare se fosse un vero palloncino gonfiabile”
(the woman touched the artwork… probably to verify if it was a real inflatable balloon)

In the sentence above, the subjunctive mood is used with the conjunction “se” because the action of “verificare” is uncertain or hypothetical.
The sentence is expressing the possibility that the sculpture was a real balloon, and the subjunctive mood is used to indicate that uncertainty.

Here are some more examples of the use of the imperfect subjunctive with “se”:

Non so se abbia ragione. (I don’t know if he’s right.)
Non sapevo se avessi bisogno di aiuto. (I didn’t know if you needed help.)

Translation

During a private exhibition at Art Wynwood in Miami, a woman accidentally caused serious damage to a glass sculpture by artist Jeff Koons worth $42,000.

The sculpture, part of the famous “balloon dog” series, depicted a blue balloon shaped like a dog and was one of the masterpieces of the American artist.

According to eyewitnesses present at the event, the woman touched the artwork, placed on a pedestal with Jeff Koons’ name, probably to verify if it was a real inflatable balloon.

Unfortunately, the artwork fell to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces, causing considerable damage to the event organizers.

Donna rompe un’opera di Koons da 42mila dollari