Eau Claire Police seek help in finding Sculpture Tour vandals

Mike Paulus |

On Thursday, the Eau Claire Police Department released images of the people who vandalized a Sculpture Tour Eau Claire installation on Water Street last June (see the press release below). There have been over four cases of theft and vandalism in the Sculpture Tour's four-year history, giving Eau Claire the worst incident rate of all five cities in the Sculpture One Partner Network.

Hopefully, this won't jeopardize the future of the otherwise fantastic program. According to the Leader-Telegram, in an email to Eau Claire police Sgt. Gary Axness, Sculpture Tour board vice president Sherry Mohr said, “We have the network cities, artists and our insurance (carrier) looking for answers and for us to get our vandalism (and) theft under control.”  

Upon inspecting the images, analysts are left mystified as to why these unusually tall and most probably inebriated 2-year-olds would so obviously appreciate the sculpture and then choose to destroy it.

The surveillance footage obtained by the ECPD clearly shows a group of what appears to be oversized toddlers posing with and taking pictures of the $6,300 public art installation (handcrafted to bring joy and beauty to our city's streets), before ripping it from its pedestal like greedy little children stealing sweaty handfuls of chocolate cake from Grandma's kitchen counter, cramming their grubby, booger encrusted fingers right into the dessert, ruining it for everyone.

Upon inspecting the images, analysts are left mystified as to why these unusually tall and most probably inebriated 2-year-olds would so obviously appreciate the sculpture and then choose to destroy it – as if they were envious of a friend's Lego creation. It's as if they just didn't consider how many people spent countless hours of volunteered time and energy to create something like Sculpture Tour Eau Claire. It's as if they weren't able to think beyond their own infantilized world to realize how many other thousands of people enjoy seeing the statue they treated like a cheap plastic Happy Meal toy, to be played with for a few moments and then tossed out the window during a tantrum over which Backyardigans episode they commanded Mommy to play on their minivan's high-definition Blu Ray video system. Information on helping to identify the toddlers is below …

Left:
Left: "Hey, this thing's cool!" Right: "Let's rip it down and throw it in the alley!"

Eau Claire Police Department News Release, 9-4-14 | On June 20, 2014, a sculpture was removed without permission from its pedestal in the 400 block of Water Street. The sculpture, which is part of Sculpture Tour Eau Claire, is titled “Rock and Roll” and is valued at $6,300. Surveillance video from nearby businesses was obtained and show two females and three males interacting with and carrying away the sculpture around 2:15 a.m. earlier that morning. That same evening the sculpture was recovered in the alley behind a business in the 400 block of Water Street.

The Eau Claire Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the individuals responsible for the removal of this sculpture. Anyone with information is asked to call Eau Claire Police Department Detective Sergeant Mark Pieper at 715-839-6217, the anonymous Tipster Line at 715-839-4982 or text an anonymous tip with ECPD and your tip to 847411 (TIP411).