The tortoises in Cai Guo-Qiang’s exhibition “Moving Ghost Town” at the Aspen Art Museum were removed Monday, August 18, because of concerns about the cold weather from a local veterinarian.

When talking with reporters at The Aspen Times, the museum spokeswoman Sarah Fitzmaurice stressed that the turtles were removed not in response to the criticism from the public but because of the request from the veterinarian.

It is true that tons of controversy and criticism was created over these reptiles, but controversy plays a huge part in modern art. According to the AAM website, “The Aspen Art Museum is a contemporary art museum that provides a platform for artists to present their artistic vision with a freedom of expression. That free expression can take many forms, and it is not the Museum’s practice to censor artists.”

AAM docent Ben Tomkins explained, “I think the ultimate criticism it to just not show up and not have the direct experience. You would hope that a contemporary art museum can create a whole diverse rainbow of criticism, praise, ‘who cares’, a whole range of reactions. That is what the particular exhibition caused.”

Regardless of whether the exhibit was liked or not by the public, it sure brought a ton of media publicity to the museum. Many articles by The Aspen Times and The Aspen Daily News were written focusing mainly on the tortoises, which museum employees think attracted visitors.

“The first day we opened, there were about 8,000 people, which is roughly the same number that visited the old art museum in a year. But it is hard to know if this exhibit made a positive or negative effect on that number,” Tomkins said.

According to the AAM’s website, the purpose of Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Moving Ghost Town” was to show ghost towns through a tortoise’s point of view. Cai Guo-Qiang has always been an artist who bases his artwork on Chinese symbolism, although according to IB Art student Zoe Starensier, the shock of the tortoises with iPads overtook the initial idea.

“I went to the 24-hour grand opening at the Aspen Art Museum hoping to be inspired for some of my IB artwork. I really enjoyed all of the exhibits, except for the tortoise one on the top floor. I thought the concept of tortoises carrying memories was cool, but the way the artist did it seemed really inhumane. I mean, what kind of animal wants to carry two huge iPads on their back?” Starensier said.

Although the exhibit was set to run through October 5, the tortoises left 18 days early under the request of the veterinarian. The tortoises are now living in a sanctuary where holding iPads will not be a part of their job description.