How does Bust of Edward Snowden elucidate its Removal and aftermath?
Local residents had varied responses. The sculpture was up for only 12 to 13 hours before it was covered by blue tarpaulin and bound with rope at 12:30 pm on April 6, 2015, almost immediately after an official discovered it, then taken down an hour later. Calling it an "art prank", investigators from the New York City Police Department's Intelligence Division reportedly gathered DNA and examining other evidence in an attempt to determine the identity of the artist or artists. According to a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation,  "[t]he erection of any unapproved structure or artwork in a city park is illegal." Some passersby were annoyed at the covering of the bust, however.The bust was being held at the NYPD's 88th Precinct pending the investigation's outcome.Hours after the sculpture was removed, a group of New York artists calling themselves the Illuminator Art Collective—unrelated to the three artists who created the bust—used smoke and projection equipment to create an ephemeral "hologram" image of Snowden in place of the missing sculpture. This projection included Snowden's face above one of the pillars, as well as "Snowden" in white letters at the bottom of the pillar. Collective artists said, "Our feeling is that while the State may remove any material artifacts that speak in defiance against incumbent authoritarianism, the acts of resistance remain in the public consciousness. And it is in sharing that act of defiance that hope resides." The original artists said they were "touched" to see their bust and nameplate "reinstalled" with the use of light, adding that they were "surprised to see the way the statue was covered up before its removal, as though it were a profane statement."New York City has had a number of pieces of street art, like the Charging Bull, which have become cultural icons and tourist attractions. An online petition sought the return of the bust to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument.The New York Daily News reported on April 14, 2015, that Ron Kuby, a lawyer representing the unidentified artists, had asked New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to return the sculpture to its creators. Kuby stated, "The statue itself is not contraband. Whatever the right of the Parks Department to remove an unauthorized sculpture, that does not translate into the right of the police to indefinitely detain a work of art." The artists planned to submit an application for authorized public display, and a Manhattan art gallery also expressed interest in exhibiting the Snowden sculpture.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation hologram icons New York City Police Department DNA New York Daily News New York City Police Commissioner the Illuminator Art Collective Bill Bratton New York City cultural street art ephemeral tarpaulin Charging Bull Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument cultural icon Ron Kuby Precinct