Art in the impound: Sculpture almost towed

It took some frantic phone calls Sunday to prevent an art installation from being towed away off a downtown Charlottetown street, according to one of the installation's curators.

Sputnik Returned 2, a wrecked car with a replica of Sputnik crashed into the roof, was installed in a parking space on Grafton Street over the weekend as part of the city's Art in the Open festival. Co-curator Becka Viau received a call from the artist not long after.

"His partner was walking by, thank goodness, and encountered a tow truck starting to lift his sculpture off the road," said Viau.

"I quickly got on the horn and got it sorted out. But pretty funny overall."

Art in the Open had permission from the city to install the sculpture, but Charlottetown Police said there was a mix up about the dates the sculpture was supposed to be installed.

Police thought the sculpture would be put in place on Aug. 26, while in fact it was installed on Aug. 19.

Viau said it was an understandable mistake.

"When you see a satellite crashed into a parked car you might be a bit alarmed," she said, noting that reaction is in many ways what the artwork is about.

"It is about having your imagination bump into something in real life that makes you wonder."

Sputnik Returned 2 is an early installation for the festival, which is holding its main event Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight. It will include installations and performances around Confederation Centre and in Victoria Park.

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