Public art cannot please everyone. Last weekend in Florida, a 49-year-old man drove his car into a large blue rabbit sculpture on the side of the road – an act of intentional vandalism that was caught on camera.
Police were called to the scene by witnesses shortly after the incident, which happened at Justin Flippen Park in the town of Wilton Manors on Sunday, according to NBC South Florida. CCTV footage showed the man stopping and getting out of his car to retrieve and reattach a piece of the vehicle before driving off.
While tracking down the car, police quickly identified its driver as Derek Alan Modrok, who turned out to be a repeat offender. On May 16, he crashed his car into a sign, also at Justin Flippen Park, and just two days later collided with a popsicle statue at Rachel Richardson Park.
Directed by American artist Hunt Slonem, thunder blue stands 14 feet tall and is worth $300,000. This award reflects the arduous production process of the work, which took over a year and involved over 10,000 pieces of glass.
“It’s very disappointing and shocking,” Slonem told NBC. “The purpose of the sculpture is to make people happy, to celebrate life and to worship the rabbit.”
Modrok, who admitted to the crimes, said they were motivated by his anger at the city’s former mayor, Justin Flippen. He was charged with three counts of criminal mischief.
The damage to thunder blue occurred primarily at the bottom of the statue, where an area of the glass is broken with pieces missing.
“I pledge to make art for the rest of my life regardless of such acts of destruction and I hope we find ways to better protect public works in the future,” Slonem said in a statement. communicated. “I have received many comments from people appreciating the work as well as condemning this act of violence against him.”
The sculpture had been loaned to the city by Slonem and had just been installed about two weeks ago. It is now up to the commissioners to organize the repair of the structure.
Slonem is best known as a Neo-Expressionist painter of exotic flora and fauna. Rabbits appear frequently in his work.
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