Visual Art

Cameras Considered to Stop Sculpture Swiping

Emily Kinzel |

fsfdf
"Farm Fireball" on S. Barstow Street

Over the years, artworks from the Sculpture Tour Eau Claire have occasionally gone missing. The most recent theft was of a sculpture named “Farm Fireball,” which vanished March 24 from what the tour thought was a secure facility. (The spherical steel sculpture by Minnesota artist Eva Asplin was in storage awaiting repairs after previous vandalism.) “We have had seven cases of vandalism this year, which is far too many,” Executive Director Julie Pangallo told WQOW-TV. “This kind of vandalism and theft could threaten the tour because artists become less (likely) to have their pieces in your town if they think something is going to happen to it.” A few days later, Pangallo received a call from the Eau Claire Police Department telling her they had recovered the sculpture from a downtown parking lot without any further damage. To prevent future disappearing acts, Sculpture Tour Eau Claire is looking into installing security cameras to keep an eye on the art. As Pangallo told the Leader-Telegram, “These artists put their heart and soul into their work” – and the organization is now putting its heart and soul into preventing theft or vandalism.