Public art projects always run the risk of theft or vandalism. It seems that, to some, the impulse to destroy art is as strong as the impulse to create it. It’s a regrettable tendency, because the defacement of public art detracts from the vibrancy of the community that produces it, and it robs the artists of their creative output.

In early June, Art Esprit unveiled its latest public art project, “The Mythology of Rochester.” Artists and writers united to create 12 original myths with accompanying sculptures, which were installed around downtown Rochester (see the June 6 issue of The Wire or visit www.wirenh.com for more on the project). 

One of those myths, “The Littlest Giwakwa” by Rebecca Helfer, involves a mythical race of large, man-eating creatures. One giwakwa refused to eat humans and, after a long search for the perfect food, decided to eat ice cream instead.

Accompanying the myth was a sculpture by Elizabeth Helfer, showing a small but fierce-looking giwakwa at the base of a large ice cream cone. It was installed on the sidewalk outside Sweet Kuppin’ Cakes on North Main Street.

Less than a week after the “Mythology of Rochester” project was presented to the public, the giwakwa sculpture was stolen. The ice cream cone is still there, but the little creature disappeared on the night of Friday, June 8.

According to Art Esprit member Mary-Jo Monusky, Helfer worked for months on the sculpture, which was supposed to remain on display until Nov. 3. In a press release, she said she was surprised by the theft.

“We’ve been doing these public exhibits for four years now, and really had very little vandalism,” Monusky said. “Our artist Elizabeth Helfer worked very hard to create the sculpture, and it is not easily replaced.”

Unfortunately, vandalism to public art is alarmingly common. In April, Portsmouth poet laureate John-Michael Albert launched the first round of The Brick Project. Poems mounted on plaques were placed on the exterior walls of 14 businesses around downtown Portsmouth. Within two weeks, every plaque was stolen.

“Someone systematically tore every one of them off the walls, most of them in a single night,” Albert said in a press release. “They even damaged one wall; it looks like they might have chiseled the plaque off.”

Thankfully, our local artists are pretty resilient. Albert and fellow poet Mike Nelson had previously made videos showing each plaque in its proper location, and those videos have received hundreds of viewings on YouTube. What’s more, not to be deterred, Albert and Nelson have launched a second round of The Brick Project with poems located safely inside the display windows of several businesses.

But the ongoing trend of art defacement is troubling. In 2008, Art-Speak’s Overnight Art project featured a “Giant Ant” sculpture by Nathan Walker in Portsmouth’s Market Square. A passerby climbed on the ant’s back one night and ripped off its head. In 2009, at the Sculpture in the Park exhibition in Prescott Park, someone stole three ceramic orbs by sculptor Jane Kaufmann and ripped apart a “Fish Bench” crafted by Thomas Berger. The next summer, in 2010, Prescott Park Arts Festival crew arrived one morning to discover the entire front face of the “Peter Pan” set ripped off its scaffolding and strewn about the park. A few weeks later, the actors’ backstage area was damaged as well.

We are fortunate to have so many local organizations dedicated to presenting public artwork at no cost to viewers. It’s that sort of creative spirit that has made the Seacoast such a desirable place to live and visit.

No one is required to like the artwork that is there for them to enjoy, but they are required to respect it. Defacing such art spoils hours of hard work and deprives other community members of the opportunity to see it for themselves.

Community members with information about the stolen giwakwa sculpture are asked to contact the Rochester Police Department at 603-330-7127, or Art Esprit at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . —Matt Kanner