Vandal destroys City Hall artwork

AUSTIN (KXAN) - For months it sat outside the main doors in front of Austin’s City Hall.

Friday morning, the limestone sculpture -- known as “Stone Ocular #12” -- sits in chucks on the ground.

The Austin Police Department said it's investigating the crime as a state jail felony.

The statue topplers could be facing two years behind bars, according to APD.

APD confirmed officials have security camera footage showing the statue being pushed over, but they did not elaborate.

A source inside City Hall who has seen the footage said it shows two men walking up to the statue and then one pushing it over at about 2:30 Friday morning.

The limestone statue is part of The People’s Gallery , a changing exhibit at City Hall meant to showcase regional artwork.

From the gallery exhibition guide:

Roger Foster, Defining the View Series XLIV “Stone Ocular #12”, limestone, 2009

The sculpture is a result of my repetitive and derivative interpretation of the ancient Chinese Bi. These small jade discs were ritual objects associated with shaman dating from 5,000 BC. Through my series of translations, I express the connection that symbols for spiritual forces, power, energy, fragility and permanence have had throughout societies from antiquity to the present. Courtesy of the artist.