COLORADO SPRINGS – For the second time, public support has helped replace art stolen from downtown Colorado Springs. The second stolen statue called Pikes Peak was created as an addition to a series of three works when the first piece in that series was stolen a little over a year back.
The first in the Civic Treasures series is called Kissing Camels. The series is statues just a few inches high, placed in subtle locations. Part of the experience is discovering the small pieces of art. “That’s the artist’s whole point. When Scottie Burgess put this piece in, in the first place, he said public art doesn’t have to be big in order to make a big impact,” said Downtown, Urban Engagement Manager, Claire Swinford.
The statue Pikes Peak was created from excess crowd funding money raised to bring back a duplicate of the Kissing Camels. Unfortunately, like the first piece of art, Pikes Peak was pried from its downtown location and stolen.
Artist Scottie Burgess offered to replace the first stolen statue for just the cost of materials. The artist’s generosity was met by public funding donations. “We all know that our city does a great job with the public art it owns, but it does not have an acquisition budget,” said Swinford, “So that artist’s show of generosity was crucial to bringing this sculpture back.”
The generosity continued with the second stolen statue. Burges had cast a duplicate while making the first Pikes Peak. He called with an offer. His studio is in Denver but he grew up in Colorado Springs and was coming home for the holiday. He installed the art while visiting. “So he did that out of his own pocket,” said Swinford.
