Taggers Deface Statues In Grant Park Art Installation
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Vandals struck overnight in Grant Park, defacing a popular art installation of human figures in the park near the corner of Michigan and Jackson.
WBBM's Mike Krauser reports most of the statues that make up an Icelandic artist's installation called "Borders" were hit by taggers with two distinctive signatures to their graffiti.
The 26 statues are life-size human figures, half silver aluminum and half rusty iron, androgynous and faceless, from sitting to crouching to standing.
Bob O'Neill, head of the Grant Park Conservancy, which sponsored the installation, looked over the statues Saturday morning and said it's "disgusting."
"It is lost on some people, it is very subtle, but graffiti, litter, cleanliness really lead to decay. It's an incredibly slippery slope and graffiti really makes an area look unsafe," said O'Neill.
Taggers Deface Statues In Grant Park Art Installation
O'Neill says the installation has been very popular.
"They take a double-take and then they walk in here and then they interact and take photos because they are human size and human proportions so they lend themselves really well to interacting with humans," said O'Neill.
He hopes police can catch the taggers and that they got more than a slap on the wrist.
There are no cameras trained on the section of grant park where the vandalism occurred.
