Annoying ArtPrize pianist arrested

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Police arrested a man last Monday with a felony warrant out for his arrest; he was playing one of the "Play Me: I'm Yours" pianos located in front of the police station.

Luke Jerram, of Bristol, England, set up the pianos around the city as his ArtPrize entry. Anyone is invited to take a seat and play.

For several hours one day, a man sat at the piano and played one note for hours, police said. He received lots of attention, including the attention of the police.

An officer reporting for the night shift recognized the man, Xavier Ross, who was sought for felony burglary. The officer went inside, checked the paperwork, and Ross was arrested.

When asked for Ross' reaction, GRPD Capt. Jeff Hertel said: "Probably surprise. I wasn't there, but probably surprise. ... Maybe he was caught up in the ArtPrize moment."

Ross did not say why he played one note for hours.

He isn't the only one who's drawn some negative ArtPrize attention.

Last week, police confirmed at least two pieces were the targets of several incidents of vandalism.

So, what's being done to protect the artists' work?

Police are on foot patrol, and surveillance cameras can help if they're pointed in the right direction at the right time -- but Hertel said the public can help, too.

"The bigger help is the thousands of people -- the thousands of pairs of eyes downtown watching art pieces," he said.

Some venues -- such as the Grand Rapids Art Museum -- come with their own security guards and insurance, but the competition is fierce for ArtPrize contestants hoping to house their work at the GRAM. Only 43 artists out of 1,400 were selected.

Artists can protect themselves by purchasing insurance, but it can be expensive.

"I ran into one artists who was in a small venue and couldn't afford the insurance, so she went without," said Cindy Buckner, the curator of the GRAM.

Some of the damage to the pieces is accidental, such as the footprint in "salt & earth (garden for Patricia)," by Young Kim.

Many people apologized to Kim, but he took the damage in stride.

"I think these marks, this accidental foot step or curious finger poking let other people know that visually, this is very fragile and temporal," Kim said.

Other damage isn't so accidental. There have now been four complaints of vandalism to date. Police caught two in the act -- one trying to take off with a sculpture of Buddha and the other trying to move the balloons on the Pearl Street bridge. The suspects face misdemeanor charges of meddling and tampering, but vandalism could command a felony charge.