Derek Alan Modrok, a 49-year-old Florida resident, admitted to working his automobile right into a tall, blue sculpture of a rabbit titled Thunderbunny via American artist Hunt Slonem, police mentioned previous this week. The sculpture, which has an estimated price of $300,000, resided in Justin Flippen Park within the town of Wilton Manors, simply north of Citadel Lauderdale.
Modrok additionally admitted to vandalized every other piece of artwork, a popsicle statue via Craig Berube-Grey at within sight Rachel Richardson Park, previous this month. Police arrested Modrok after surveillance pictures depicted him within the act.
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Slonem, for his section, first heard concerning the act of vandalism when NBC Miami reached out to him for a quote, and because then he’s been processing the assault. It’s no longer the primary time he’s misplaced a work of public artwork.
“9/11 used to be worse, I misplaced an 80-foot mural,” Slonem instructed ARTnews, slightly mystified that this type of violence as soon as once more discovered its strategy to his paintings. “I used to be simply surprised. It’s simply any such peculiar factor, the truth that it’s came about earlier than and the truth that it came about once more.”
Thunderbunny, at 13 feet-7 inches and manufactured from 6,500 items of blue glass, took a yr to make and used to be put in within the park in Would possibly 2022 after native gallery Artwork Gallery 21 labored with town to mortgage the sculpture from New River Wonderful Artwork in Citadel Lauderdale. The sculpture used to be because of commute to a botanical lawn, however the ones plans have now been stalled. Slonem and the commissioners are reviewing the paintings to peer if maintenance are even conceivable because the paintings sustained heavy structural injury. Slonem mentioned it might take a pair extra days to determine what may also be accomplished.
In spite of the state of censorship of the humanities being undertaken in Florida, it kind of feels that Modrok used to be no longer motivated via the present political local weather. NBC Miami reported that Modrok instructed native police that he had centered the paintings since the park it resided in used to be named after Justin Flippen, a former mayor of Wilton Manors who Modrok blamed “for the birds that we pay attention.” The park used to be named after Flippen following his surprising loss of life at 41 because of an aneurysm.
“That is in point of fact odd, as a result of I’m a hen freak,” mentioned Slonem. “I’ve numerous puppy birds, as much as 100, and this man didn’t just like the mayor on account of all of the birds?” It’s unclear if Modrok knew about Slonem’s love of birds or if this used to be a twist of fate.
Modrok has a prior felony document, having served 3 years in Broward County for the sale of cocaine. Modrok used to be charged with 3 counts of felony mischief when it comes to his contemporary spate of vandalism.
