Posted: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 12:00 am
Nathan Payne, AP
A bronze sculpture of a Roman Catholic cardinal, 'Morning Spirits,' stands scorched on its new pedestal near the Campbell County Public Library in Gillette after vandals set it on fire.
GILLETTE (AP) - For the second time since December, vandals in Gillette have attacked a bronze sculpture of a Roman Catholic cardinal, this time setting it on fire.
The work, titled "Morning Spirits," has been on display as part of Gillette's Avenues of Art project that places sculptures on the city streets.
In December, someone drove a stolen Chevy Suburban into the sculpture. The sculpture had to be repaired at a Loveland, Colo., foundry and was reinstalled in front of the Campbell County Public Library.
Around 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to fire investigator Eric Acton, someone wrapped the sculpture in plastic sheeting, soaked it with flammable liquid and set it on fire.
"It would be hard to know who would do a thing like this," said Suzanne Weakly, a member of the Mayor's Art Council.
Weakly said someone called last week and threatened to call the American Civil Liberties Union about having the sculpture in front of a public building. Weakly didn't believe there was a connection, however.
The sculpture depicts an unnamed cardinal wearing traditional dress and glasses and holding a cup of coffee.
Artist Susan Geissler of Niagara Falls, N.Y., loaned it to Gillette for a year.
Geissler said Tuesday that she is very attached to her sculptures when she makes them, but her involvement ends when they are completed.
"Once it leaves my hands, it belongs to whoever is facing that piece," she said. "Apparently it was a very successful piece, because the reaction that it stirs up in this person, it wasn't a good reaction, but it was a strong reaction. So it was a success."
She said the sculpture had nothing to do with religion.
"It's a man," she said. "It's a character. It's a person. And he just happens to be wearing a cardinal's cassock."
Her advice to the vandal: "Get a life."
She said she would take the sculpture back from Gillette and that insurance would cover the cost of sandblasting and repainting it.