Eric Vaughn Holowacz Archives

Archives Items Relating to the Life, Times, and Cultural Engineering Work of Eric Vaughn Holowacz of Wellington, New Zealand and Sedona, Arizona

May 26, 2000

From Carolina Morning News, 26 May 2000

Officials fired up over torched art cow
'Act of terrorism against the community' is being investigated by police.
By Lolita Huckaby

BEAUFORT -- Who'd want to hurt a fiberglass cow?

Beaufort residents who've come to know and love the 27 art cows that have been "vacationing" in Beaufort since mid-April were shocked Thursday as news spread through the community that one of them had been torched by vandals during the night.

All that remained of the brightly painted cow at the corner of Ribaut Road and Bay Street was scorched grass around the concrete base and a tiny section of charred hoof.

"I'm shocked ... appalled ... the kids are going to be devastated," said Margaret Rushton of the Humanities School, which co-sponsored the cow with Lady's Island Middle School.

The school is only a few blocks away from where the cow had stood and many of the students, just like other passing motorists, had not noticed its absence during the morning drive time.

The fire, at one of the city's major intersections, was reported around 2:30 a.m. but by the time fire trucks arrived from three blocks away, the cow, entitled, "Merci, Henri," had burned to the ground.

Police are investigating.

Eric Holowacz, executive director of the Arts Council of Beaufort County, was disappointed Thursday morning after meeting with law enforcement officials.

"Stupidity and cowardice had to have been the motive for this," he said. "Why else would someone hurt a simple piece of art that so many have come to love? I consider it an act of terrorism against the community."

The cows are on loan from the city of Chicago, although several in the collection belong to private citizens. The Arts Council had to insure the entire collection before it was moved to Beaufort.

Ironically, the vandalism occurred on the night of the Arts Council's annual meeting, where Michael Lash, director of Chicago's public arts program, was the keynote speaker.

"There's no way to know if there was any connection with the timing or it was just a simple, stupid act of vandalism," Holowacz said. "This type of vandalism can happen anytime, anywhere, whether it's to a cow, your car, your house."

Holowacz said there are no plans to relocate the cows, which have been attracting locals and visitors alike, to possibly safer locations.

"Unfortunately, when you're dealing with public art, you have to be prepared for anything, whether it's someone breaking a horn off one of the cows or worse, such as this," he said.

"But good and bad happens in every community and we're not going to take the art away from the public."



Anyone with information about the burned cow is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-525-7175 or contact Sgt. Howard Greene at the Beaufort Police Department at (843) 470-3001. A reward is being offered.