An impressive Transformers sculpture made of discarded car parts with the help of local kids in Queens was stolen off the street, and the artist is asking for help locating it.
Annalisa Iadicicco reported the sculpture missing on Aug. 31 but photos of Transformers sculpture circulating online has recently intensified interest in the piece, she told NBC 4 New York.
Iadicicco created the sculpture with reclaimed car bumpers, bolts, plastic and cloth outside a Jamaica Avenue storefront over the course of 10 days in July. She recruited the help of intrigued passersby, but it was a group of children ages 8 to 15 who especially delighted in assisting, video shows.
"This was a workshop for kids," the artist told QNS.com, which first reported the missing sculpture. "The piece just came alive little by little."
After the sculpture was completed -- the base of which measured 72 inches by 68 inches, and about 36 inches deep -- it was placed outside Local Project's studio on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, fastened to the door with a chain. The sculpture disappeared on Aug. 31, sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., Iadicicco said.
She filed a police report, telling QNS.com "the officers were curious when I showed them the picture. They were like, "This is amazing.' They passed the phone around."
Police confirmed Iadicicco filed a report in the 108th Precinct. They say no arrest has been made in the case.
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Since the theft, "the lost sculpture's story got a lot of attention through social media, word of mouth, plus I posted flyers in the neighborhood," Iadicicco told NBC 4 in an email Thursday.
"People really loved it, they are still posting comments and every time they see me, they ask about the sculpture," she said. "I think it became the art gossip of the neighborhood."
The project was part of the Jameco Exchange, which engages the public in art education and creation. Iadicicco was working with the Long Island City-based artist collective Local Project with the aim of building a sculpture comprised of trash gathered from city streets with the help of public participants.
In the meantime, Iadicicco is holding her next workshop on Oct. 15 at Socrates Sculpture Center in Long Island City, again using reclaimed objects to create a flower garden. In fact, one of the components will be what was left behind of the stolen Transformers sculpture: his superpower tool, made of eight vegetable oil tanks.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Iadicicco to info@annalisaiadicicco.com.
