On Friday, April 3 at around 9:30 am, the crane being used to set up a tent for the April 11 Art Ball toppled. Coming to rest against the museum's roof, it narrowly missed the Mark di Suvero's sculpture on the museum's south lawn.
According to a statement issued by the museum on the day of the accident, no damage was done to the popular piece of art or any other sculptures. It was necessary to close the museum’s south entrance, but the facility maintained its usual business hours.
The crane’s operator went to Baylor University Medical Center. A witness to the incident, James Walker, was quoted at Dallasnews.com as saying:
“The man sitting inside bumped his head on the window. I don’t think he got hurt that bad.”
Scharff Crane Rental chose not to make a comment about the incident.
While passers-by looked on, some joking about the tilted crane being the DMA’s latest exhibit, museum workers set about removing sculptures endangered by the leaning crane.
Museums are frequently consumers of postcard printing services, but whether a postcard of ‘Ave’ featuring the crane resting next to it will be commissioned remains to be seen.