Yikes. One person's art project is another person's bomb scare... Over the weekend in New York, an artist was arrested after his installation project prompted a call to the police bomb squad: To an Artist, It Was a Tribute to New York; to the Police, It Was a Fake Bomb.
Renowned artist Takeshi Miyakawa stamped white plastic bags with the "I [heart] NY" logo, illuminated the bags from within with LED lights, and hung them from lampposts and trees around Brooklyn and beyond. It was supposed to be his loving tribute to the city, in celebration of NY Design Week.
Unfortunately, the cops didn't have quite the same appreciation for Mr. Miyakawa's artistic intentions:
But Mr. Miyakawa's nighttime efforts to install the art in Brooklyn evidently led someone to tell the police about "a suspicious package attached to a tree," according to a criminal complaint the Brooklyn district attorney's office has filed against Mr. Miyakawa.Damn. Dude can't show some LED-lighted love for his city? The artist's supporters have started a petition to help free Takeshi Miyakawa and help free art. For further information, go brooklyn artist takeshi miyakawa arrested for 'planting false bombs.'
When the police arrived at Bedford Avenue and Lorimer Street shortly after 2 a.m., they found Mr. Miyakawa atop a ladder. What was art to Mr. Miyakawa, was, to the authorities, "an assembly consisting of a plastic box containing wires which was connected by a wire to a plastic bag containing a battery suspended from a metal rod," the complaint said.
Mr. Miyakawa was charged with reckless endangerment and placing "a false bomb or hazardous substance," among other charges. He was arraigned in court in Brooklyn on Sunday morning, his lawyer, Deborah J. Blum, said.