[MSN] Thieves steal gold from art installation in France

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Thieves steal gold from art installation in France
Fri Feb 2, 2007 5:35 PM GMT140

PARIS (Reuters) - Thieves have stolen a 12-kg (26 lb) bar of gold from an
art installation by a U.S. artist in Paris, the Fondation Cartier art centre
said on Friday.

The bar, which was placed in a large basin filled with black oil in the art
work by Gary Hill, was stolen overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, a
spokeswoman for the arts centre said.

"Nothing like this has happened here before," she said, giving no further
details on the theft. An inquiry was under way.

A 12-kg bar is worth some $270,000 at current gold prices of $645 an ounce.

The gold bar, inscribed with the words "For everything which is visible is a
copy of that which is hidden" was part of an installation featuring a video
projection of a giant eagle locked inside a pylon.

The bird's image was reflected on the surface of the oil.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/