Someone vandalized one of the 82 bronze sculptures installed throughout downtown Cheyenne, and nobody's sure if the crime was an attempted theft, prank, or just damaging it for fun.
"I don't know if they were criminals trying to steal it or turds trying to wreck it," said Cheyenne art dealer Harvey Deselms.
The bronze sculpture, placed in memory of a deceased spouse, has been removed from its pedestal but hasn't suffered any permanent damage. It will be back on the corner of Pioneer Avenue and West 19th Street, right across from the Laramie County Sheriff's Office, soon.
"Not only are you a criminal guilty of destruction of public property, but you're also an idiot," Deselms said.
A Memorial
"Buffalo Nation" is a bronze sculpture by famous Wyoming artist Chris Navarro. The $6,400 work was donated to the city of Cheyenne by Sue Mecca in honor of her late husband, Ernest.
"That's why I'm disgusted that this happened," Deselms said. "Breaking something that isn't yours is wrong on so many levels, but this sculpture was donated to honor someone's late husband.
"If that was honoring your spouse, parents, or grandparents, how would you feel?"
The sculpture was installed on July 16 and remained untouched until this incident. Deselms isn't sure when the vandalism occurred, but he said it was sometime within the last 10 days.
Deselms isn't sure whether to attribute the damage to an attempted theft or someone "just messing with it." Either way, he's baffled that someone would be that brazen with the bronze, given its location.
"With the sheriff's office and two banks right there, I don't know how many cameras would have that spot in their sights," he said. "It just seems stupid, but criminals aren't smart, I guess."
Too Many Targets
"Buffalo Nation" was installed as part of the Cheyenne's Capitol Avenue Bronze Project. It's been an ongoing effort to place 100 bronze sculptures that Deselms, Wyoming artists, and Cheyenne residents have dreamed of since 2008.
"We have 82 in place, five more finished and ready to place, and 10 more that are actively being worked on, either in the foundry or being sculpted," Deselms said. "We're very fortunate that nobody's really had a campaign of vandalism against them."
When the project began with fewer than 10 bronzes installed at various locations in Cheyenne, there were a few notable incidents of vandalism. One of the original sculptures was stolen, and some were covered in paint that was easily cleaned off.
Several years and dozens of bronze sculptures later, incidents of vandalism have been few and far between. Deselms thinks there are just too many for people to pick one to "get attention."
"When there were fewer sculptures, people targeted whichever one would get the most attention," he said. "Now that there are so many, I think it's dissuaded some vandalism."
The worst recent incident of damaging a Cheyenne sculpture was unintentional.
A truck crashed into the pedestal of "Sunrise," a $95,000 bronze in the front yard of Deselms Fine Art, and nearly hit another bronze sculpture worth $165,000.
"The driver ended up knocking the bronze off (the pedestal) and stopped just short of hitting the other bronze," Deselms told Cowboy State Daily in January. "The important thing is that nobody was hurt and (the sculpture) could be fixed."
Deselms recalled a few other incidents in which vehicles hit bronze sculptures in Cheyenne, but none were intentional or particularly damaging.
"They usually don't hurt the bronze or the pedestal, but they hurt the car," he said. "Those are accidents, but someone trying to break or steal a sculpture is a whole different thing. We got it taken care of, but it was a pretty crappy thing to do."
You Won't Like This Felony
There was no damage done to "Buffalo Nation," but the bolts securing the bronze sculpture to its pedestal will need to be replaced.
Deselms said the sculpture has already been taken to the Rocky Mountain Bronze Shop in Cheyenne, where it will be fitted with an additional bolt.
"One bolt broke, and the other was almost broken," he said. "When we add the third, much larger bolt, it'll add one more point of contact to make it even sturdier than it was before."
Deselms noted that all the bronze sculptures commissioned through the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project have been privately funded and donated to the city of Cheyenne. That means each sculpture is city property, which will have to cover the cost of the damage.
"The city takes ownership of them, and then they're on their insurance policy," Deselms said. "I shared the information with Mayor Patrick Collins, so I assume there's a police report on it."
Nobody is discouraged by this relatively minor incident of vandalism. With 93 sculptures either in place or in progress, the long-desired goal of 100 is well within reach.
Regardless of the intent, Deselms reminded the perpetrator, and any would-be perpetrators, that damaging these sculptures is a crime. Anyone caught could be prosecuted, and there's a lot of surveillance in downtown Cheyenne.
"I really doubt that anybody who would go on vandalizing bronze is probably on my friend list, but I just wanted to shame somebody," he said. "You might think about turning yourself in, pleading guilty to stupidity, and paying for the damage, because I don't think you're going to like this felony."
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
