Logger tried to cart off 'sculpture'

A Canadian logger was puzzled to be told that the woodpile he was dismantling was a work of art.

Ron Fahey, 59, of Sackville, New Brunswick, had been given permission to remove a stack of logs from the grounds of Mount Alison University.

So he was surprised when a local official ran over to tell him the woodpile was actually a sculpture, entitled Deadwood Sleep, reports CP24.

"I got the OK to just take the wood and, to me, it was just a pile of wood. If that's art then I'm in the wrong racket," he said. "I guess I'm not cultured."

He said he was going to use it for firewood and had started to haul some of the wood away when the town manager came rushing over to ask if he had permission to touch it.

Andrea Ward, grounds manager at Mount Allison University, said there was confusion over which pile of wood Mr Fahey was supposed to take away.

The three-year-old artwork is by local sculptor Paul Griffin and is displayed on a town website that advertises the community as the cultural capital of Canada.

"It's right in the middle of a water fowl park. That's one logger that's pretty hungry for a piece of wood," said the sculptor.

Mr Griffin, who works in the university's fine arts department, said he was relieved the incident was "an honest mistake" and not vanadalism.

"I'm from northern B.C. and I've been a logger. It strikes me as a bit humorous," he said. "They're maybe a little overzealous for wood. Maybe there's a cold winter coming on."