Where did the guerilla sculptures go? Help solve a bonafide art mystery.

Five mysterious golden men found. Four still MIA.

The original "Anew" installation at Gasworks Park | Photograph by Cyra Hobson

Last August, late on a Monday evening, an artist and five stealthy assistants brought a nine-piece sculptural installation called "Anew" to Gasworks Park. They set it up on a grassy hill overlooking the water and took off before anyone caught wind of what they were up to. The only clue they left among a mysterious cluster of golden figures was a plaque, which read:

"Anew is gifted to the citizens of Seattle in the spirit of awakening. Each of us has shells to break through, parameters to look past and wills to exercise. Arise and stand and then start moving.

P.S. If still here I will remove once the rains return."

It wasn't long before the press took note, and the following day Susan Gilmore's article in the Seattle Times received a lot of attention. The Parks Department initially agreed to allow the piece to remain in the park through noon the following Thursday, but after the guerilla art received a great deal more attention than expected, the figures were allowed to remain in the park through Labor Day.

But perhaps because of Cyra Hobson's artist statement, which found its way into the Times article — expressing that the pieces should be seen and appropriated by the people of Seattle — the group of metallic figures was disbursed without the city's help.

First, the central, standing golden figure was transported mysteriously to Laurelhurst that first Thursday night. By mid-day on August 28, 2009, all nine of the figures had been removed, some by people who revealed themselves to the artist or to the press, some by anonymous hands.

Photograph by Margaret Hartley

After speaking with the artist herself, we were able to trace the stories and locations of five figures. Here is where they wound up:

1. The curled figure appeared in the garden of Margaret Hartley (pictured above), also an artist. As of a couple of months ago, the piece was holding up really well, despite not having been manufactured to withstand the Pacific Northwest weather.
2. One of the figures shown emerging from within a darker colored shell turned up in the offices of the Bob Rivers Show. Someone from the show brought the piece in with the intention of soliciting a radio interview with Ms. Hobson.
3. After his brief soujourn in Laurelhurst, the standing golden man was taken back by the Parks Department.
4. (and 5) Two of the figures were taken by a board member of the Ballard Boys & Girls Club, along with their accompanying plaque. After failing to sell in a fund-raising auction for the organization, they were given away to an unknown person via craigslist.org. The plaque was recovered by the artist.

Several months after the flack has quieted down, we're still quite curious to know what happened to the remaining four figures.

Do you know where any of them went? Can you send us a picture? Have you incorporated one of these powerfully evocative, but ephemeral, figures into your own world?

Please let us know! Contact: virginiaw@cityartsmagazine.com