Officials at Susquehanna Art Museum in Pennsylvania left the damaged artwork as is after a woman and her daughter broke the swing set installation. Photo by Marisa Renee Smith/Susquehanna Art Museum

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A woman and her daughter damaged an art installation at a Pennsylvania museum, mistakenly believing the sculpture of a swing set was meant to be played with, museum officials said.

The artwork, called Fair and Square, features two swings suspended as if frozen mid-swing at Susquehanna Art Museum in Harrisburg, Pa. The full-size swing set is part of an exhibit called "Recycled Play," featuring other childhood playthings by artist Sean Matthews.


The show opened Aug. 17 and within 10 minutes, the woman and her daughter each reached up and pulled the swings down.

"I looked away for a moment and then, boom, it's down," museum director Alice Anne Schwab told PennLive. "The swings were swinging ... We were just devastated. The visitors mistakenly assumed they were supposed to play on the swings that were suspended."

Schwab said the two then walked to a different section of the museum and picked up pieces of a different art installation despite signage telling visitors not to touch anything.

Lauren Nye, director of exhibitions at the museum, told UPI the museum is working with its insurance company to "rectify this situation appropriately." Matthews spent 60 hours on welding alone to construct the installation and it was insured for $5,000.

"During the installation process, the decision was made by the artist and the staff to not provide physical barriers that would separate viewers from this work to preserve the original design of the exhibition," Nye said. "In response to this incident, we have engaged our staff and volunteers in rigorous discussion about visitor safety and procedures."

She said the museum also increased signage throughout the exhibition.

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