Sam Jones | The Echo
Last weekend, a sculpture, made by junior Evangeline Bouw, was both stolen and vandalized.
Milky White, a painted foam sculpture of a cow ― originally made for Taylor's theater production "Into the Woods" last fall ― went missing sometime last weekend, and was later returned.
According to Professor of Art Jonathan Bouw, the sculpture took a total of 100 hours to complete, and held sentimental value to both the theater and art departments.
Last week, the sculpture was brought out to the Tyndale Galleria in Metcalf to display for the Heritage Weekend art show. It is likely that Milky's thieves acted sometime between 8 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
After being stolen, there is no clear consensus on where the cow went: some say it was transported to the LaRita Boren Student Center; others, including Bouw, say that it was moved to the Hodson Dining Commons.
Milky was returned to its original location, with its head removed and laid beneath the body of the sculpture.
Having served as a prop in a recent theater production, this isn't the first injury Milky White has sustained.
Milky's theatrical purpose was to die and then be resurrected in "Into the Woods." In one show, Milky fell over and died ― as planned ― but, to the misfortune and panic of the cast, Milky's neck snapped. The cast acted quickly, screwing Milky's head back on as fast as possible, so as to continue on with the show, but this damage likely weakened Milky's neck region.
It is possible, though not confirmed, that the recent vandalizing of Milky White was a mishap by the cow thieves, and intent of decapitation was neither anticipated nor desired.
In the hours following the discovery of Milky's poor state, students from Taylor showed their appreciation of the sculpture through heart-felt notes, flowers and even a "Justice for Milky" campaign, started by Penthouse.
"Evangeline, both you and Milky deserve better," one note said.
Milky's situation has also become well known through Instagram, where individuals showed both their respect for the art department and condemned the actions of the cow vandals.
Disappointment from students and the art department seemed to stem primarily from the crude decapitation of Milky, more so than the fact that Milky was removed from its position in Metcalf.
"I'm sorry someone destroyed your art," another note said. "I can see the hard work you put into it. It's very beautiful."
It has recently been confirmed that one of the culprits of Milky's mistreatment did come forward and issued a private apology to both Bouw and the art department, although full details on the circumstance as a whole are still unknown.
