'Whitehorse Art Stolen During Power Outage' - CBCnews.ca - Arts and Entertainment
September 17, 2007
LINKS: Article on CBCnews.ca - Arts and Entertainment
(moose antler skull carving, moose antler skull sculpture)
A power outage across the southern Yukon over the weekend may have helped a thief nab an artwork from Whitehorse's Canada Games Centre.
According to staff at the centre, a moose antler carving valued at about $50,000 went missing sometime between midnight and 6 a.m CT. Around 3:40 a.m., the city had a blackout that lasted over an hour.
The moose antler and skull carving Yukon Seasons by Shane Wilson was stolen early Saturday from the Canada Winter Games Centre in Whitehorse.
(Courtesy of Shane Wilson)
Police are reviewing video footage from on-site security cameras to determine when the break-in occurred. Staff on duty did not notice anything until after power was restored, said Linda Rapp, the city's parks and recreation manager.
"They were down in the mechanical room resetting some of the systems down there that needed to be set with the power outage, so the alarm in the building was not set at that time," she said.
"Hopefully there's more information that comes out once the tapes are reviewed from the camera. But even so, with the lights out it may be very difficult to see anything on the tapes."
Rapp said someone smashed through a front door window and went straight for the glass case with the carving on the second floor.
"It was definitely not an act of vandalism … there was no other damage at all, you know, nothing was smashed," she said. "It was a very targeted operation."
Lost carving presents 'terrible sense of loss,' artist says
The stolen carving, named Yukon Seasons, was a donation from Whitehorse sculptor Shane Wilson, who told CBC News he was shocked to learn his work was stolen.
"It represents three years of my life," Wilson said Monday.
"It just felt like a terrible sense of loss. Also, in a strange sort of backhanded way, it's a bit of a compliment that someone would feel like my work is worth stealing."
The piece comprises an entire moose skull and antlers, intricately carved with northern imagery.
Rapp said this is the first time someone has targeted an art piece at the Canada Games Centre. She is asking for public assistance to look out for the carving and report any information to the RCMP.
"It's really disappointing, this is a valuable piece," she said. We've been thrilled that we've been able to incorporate public art into the Canada Games Centre and we really hope that we can recover it and put it back on display."
Art theft is not very common in the North; without a private airplane, thieves have to endure a two-day drive to the nearest major city in southern Canada.
Wilson said whoever stole Yukon Seasons may likely just keep it.
"I can't imagine that you'd be able to sell it, because there is only one of those in the world," he said.
Energy utility 'not happy' with overnight outage
Meanwhile, officials with Yukon Energy Corp. are reassessing their equipment after Saturday's power outage.
Utility spokeswoman Janet Patterson said problems arose from the No. 4 turbine, which technicians thought had been fixed after a previous blackout.
"This many outages, I mean, we're not happy with it … the public isn't happy with it, and so we've got to do something," Patterson said.
"And yes, that could involve spending a chunk of money. But I don't know at this point what the final decision will be in terms of moving ahead."
