[TheForge] the theft of metal public

[Ries Niemi]

It has been less of an issue here- but it does happen in the US as well.
Mostly either aluminum or copper/bronze, as they are worth the most per pound.
Where I live, we have pretty honest scrap guys- they require photo ID, and any amount over 25 bucks they write a check, not cash.
I have gotten calls from the police before, saying that material of mine was stolen from the yard of my waterjet cutters business. The scrap yard called the cops, the cops caught the guys, based on the paper trail. I even got the metal back.

I, personally, have not had problems with scrappers- my public work is all either galvanized steel or stainless, and I am pretty handy with the Hilti epoxy and big anchor bolts, often welding the nuts on.
But it could happen.

ries


On Apr 17, 2015, at 5:25 AM, terry l. ridder <terrylr at blauedonau.com> wrote:

> hello
> 
> I saw this story on the BBC News and it has caused me to sitback and
> ponder the problem.
> 
> I have not read any stories of this happening in the USA, that may be
> because of the lack of public art in the USA, which is a whole other
> posting, or it is not deemed "news worthy", which is also a whole other
> posting.
> 
> Artist hopes sculpture is theft-proof
> 
> Artist Conrad Shawcross uses cheap cast iron for his latest sculpture to
> deter metal thieves.
> 
> Summary of the news article:
> A previous metal sculpture was stolen from the park and the new
> replacement sculpture is made out of cast iron. it is not clear from the
> photographs nor the story if this new sculpture is hollow or solid.
> solid cast iron would make this new sculpture heavy.
> 
> just how does one make a sculpture difficult to steal?
> 
> as we have witnessed in Iraq, ISIS just uses jack hammers, sledge
> hammers and explosives to destroy priceless antiguities.
> 
> I have read other news stories of thieves "mining" copper telephone wire
> from abandoned buildings in the large cities of north america. detroit,
> chicago, cleveland, toronto, etc.
> 
> Bronze and brass sculptures and park bench plaques are being stolen on a
> regular basis in the UK. How does one steal a large metal sculpture from
> a public park without being seen?
> 
> Ries, has several large metal public sculptures in the pacific
> northwest. I have not read nor heard of Ries having any problems withs
> stolen sculptures.
> 
> Read more:
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32334959
> 
> -- 
> terry l. ridder ><>
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Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
WWW.RiesNiemi.com