Marlies Soltys is trying not to lose her own head over it, but the constant decapitation of her sculpture is starting to cut deep.
About four years ago, the artist and owner of Inspire Studio of Fine Art created a sculpture of a sitting man leaning casually forward, one elbow on his leg.
She named it Art van Wrinkle and placed it on the bench in front of her shop and gallery on Main Street in Minnedosa.
He became an instant attraction in the small western Manitoba town, about 45 kilometres north of Brandon, with people posing next to him for photos. But he also became a target for vandalism.
Art has been beheaded three times.
His head returned after the first two thefts, but his melon remains missing after the most recent, which happened last weekend.
“I was a little bit disheartened and in disbelief. It’s like, OK, here we go again, I guess,” Soltys told CBC Manitoba Up to Speed host Faith Fundal about finding Art decapitated once more.
The first time it went missing was a couple of years ago. Soltys said some people in the community were upset but she took a light-hearted approach.
She posted whimsical notes and puns on the statue “like, ‘I thought my head was in the game but I guess I was wrong …’ or ‘I’m trying out for the headless horseman. I think I stand a good chance,'” she said.
“[They were] just daily reminders and people got a kick out of it. And then I think whoever took it decided this is not a trophy that he or she can show off very much, because everybody cared so much.”
One morning, about three weeks after it was pilfered, Soltys found the head sitting under the bench.
The second time it was taken was about a month ago. It was found the following day on the sand at Minnedosa Beach, just east of town.
Now? Who knows.
“It’s like Where’s Waldo? but instead it’s Where’s Art’s Head?” Soltys said.
After the first beheading, Art’s head and neck were reattached using a metal plate and a special-ordered heavy-duty magnet that could withstand gale-force winds, she said.
“That worked wonders for some time, until somebody decided they needed two heads to make a decision, because two heads are always better than one, and took it.”
The second repair was reinforced with liquid polymer and more wire, but it apparently wasn’t enough to withstand someone’s determination.
“They were a little bit more violent this time, but yeah, they won,” Soltys said, adding she’s baffled by the fascination someone seems to have with Art’s head.
“I don’t know, maybe they’re jealous of his good looks. I really don’t know. I think they think now it’s a joke and … they’re funny and looking cool, but really they’re not. And their sense of community pride is not there, obviously.”
Soltys has heard from several people in the town of 2,700 who are mad about it, but she said she’s trying to keep her head above that emotional tug “and just say, OK, whoever you are, if you really need a second head that badly, come in and we’ll make one with you — I can teach you how, for free.”
The core of the statue is the chest from a male mannequin. Soltys built that out with wood, metal, heavy gauge wire, tinfoil, plastic grocery bags, hockey tape and clothing.
His head started with a Styrofoam form that was hollowed out to add more structure and reinforcement. It was all painted with a liquid polymer that dries hard and becomes weatherproof.
Soltys then added some old clothing from her husband, saturating that with the polymer as well. The final step was painting all the highlights and lowlights with metallic paints to give a bronzed look.
If Soltys had to put a value on the sculpture, she said it would be well over $2,000.
“And for that reason, we have gone to the police, because it is an act of vandalism. It is a hefty crime, without a doubt,” she said about the most recent theft.
“But being angry is somewhat futile, so I’d rather take the higher road and let’s move on. Let’s raise the expectations and do better.
“Sense of pride and community, to me, is a really high value. I really pride myself in making our storefront look attractive … and I volunteer a lot of hours within the community. I wish those who think this is a joke would do the same and respect that.”
While she hopes the head will make its way back to her once again, Soltys is in process of sculpting a new one and thinking of a better way to secure it.
“I’ve also ordered an [Apple] AirTag, which we’ll insert somewhere in the head as well, so we can keep an eye out should he adventure off again.”
