There have been no new reports on the sculpture in the Sylvester Manor Woods that was vandalized and severely damaged earlier this month, according to Shelter Island Police Department Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg.
Police took the partially wrecked work of art from it’s spot where it was part of an exhibition of sculpture and art “for forensics and to analyze it more clearly,” Sgt. Thilberg said. It was then replaced as it was found, face down in its original spot in the woods.
The life-sized sculpture, titled “Sylvanos,” originally seated on a log, is described by its creator Mary Ann Moy as “a woodland Satyr … He was first created in clay and then cast by hand into concrete with a bronze patina.”
The sculpture was found Aug. 2, face down with the head and back shattered. It was discovered by Tom Cugliani, exhibit curator of contemporary art at Sylvester Manor, who reported that the life-sized sculpture was severely damaged.
In addition to the vandalism, an audio installation was missing from an outdoor exhibit.
Mr. Cugliani discovered the damaged work, which was installed along with other sculptures along a 2-mile path through Manor woodlands, while giving a tour.
Jim Pugh recalled seeing the sculpture intact in July when he was on his way to the Quaker Meeting in the Manor woods. Something caught his eye, he said, startling him. It was the seated figure, seemingly alert to its natural surroundings.
Recently, Mr. Pugh and Jonathan Brush turned the damaged sculpture over after it had been returned by the police and leaned it against a tree, after asking Ms. Moy’s permission.
“She said she was fine with it,” Mr Pugh said. “And As Jonathan put it, ‘When you’ve got lemons, you make lemonade.’”
Returning later, they found that someone had put a bouquet of artificial flowers on the work of art. “A wonderful, participatory gesture,” Mr. Pugh said.
There have been many rumors on the Island about how the sculpture came to be damaged, including that there was nothing nefarious, but it easily could have happened by someone sitting on it, or horseplay that got out of hand.
Det. Thilberg disputed that interpretation. “That was our original impression, that it was an accident of some kind,” the officer said. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case. There were multiple impacts to the sculpture.”
The investigation is ongoing.
