According to police reports, a large hole was made in the central painting in a tri-panel ocean scene sometime before noon yesterday. Officers recovered a cinder block behind the exhibit, called "Melt-Water," at about 5 p.m. Saturday. The exhibit was erected by Vermont artist Kathryn Lipke Vigesaa, as part of programming by the county art education organization Sculpture Now.
Ann Jon, executive director of Sculpture Now, said that, besides the hole, the panel made of "construction sign material" was dislodged from its posts.
"It was really looking ugly," said Jon, who removed the damaged piece yesterday. "Something with force had gone through it. It's not that fragile, unless you take a cinder block to it."
The exhibit features reproduced photographs from the Bering Sea, with solar-powered audio clips of ocean sounds, and is valued at around $12,500.
Jon said that, although the artist is upset about the incident, she is exploring the possibility of re-creating the panel for the exhibit reception scheduled for June 7 at the Welles Gallery in the Lenox Library.
"It can be replaced, either covered by insurance or (by) the individual who caused it," Jon said. "But it's so ironic because the scene is so calming. And then this."
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