Solo is missing its head. ISU police are still looking for tips that will lead them to the statue’s head which was stolen Sunday, Sept. 8. at 4:15 a.m.

The remaining body of Solo is still standing on the south side of The Hub.

The bolt that screwed Solo’s head to the rest of the body was unscrewed and the head was taken. Darin Van Ryswyk, investigations commander, said the security video is too far away and too dark to provide any information. He also said that fingerprints were not available due to rainfall in between the time the head was stolen and the time it was reported missing.

“It’s theft of the first degree, as serious as theft gets, because of the value of the head,” Van Ryswyk said. “It would be easy to say it’s a $40 or $50,000 item. The method that was used to make this isn’t done anymore. No one has the skill to reproduce this thing so it’s very valuable. From a criminal stand point, it could be incredibly serious.”

William King, an international award-winning artist from New York, created Solo more than 30 years ago. Iowa State has two other sculptures by King in the permanent collection.

Nancy Girard, program coordinator for University Museums, said Solo first came to campus in 2010 as a temporary piece along with several other sculptures by King. Girard said that the university was inspired to buy Solo because of its reflection of many of the emotions Iowa State students experience.

“That one Solo became so popular among the student body because they felt like it really expressed the students, and it has a really great expression of achievement and success,” Girard said.

The statue itself is made out of aluminum, not a metal that would be stolen for its resale value. Van Ryswyk believes the head was stolen as more of a prank than a malicious theft.

“I really want this head — which is basically not replaceable — to be returned. We’re not looking to stick someone in prison,” Van Ryswyk said. “Our objective is less about prosecuting a crime and more about returning this important piece of university history.”

Girard said she believes that the fact that the head was stolen on the same weekend as the Cy-Hawk game could be why the statue was defaced, or at least why people were roaming campus at 4:15 a.m.

Whether the head was taken by an ISU student or an Iowa student is not something about which Girard or Van Ryswyk said they are able to speculate.

“I think that there’s just certain weekends on campus where things escalate, and that’s one of them,” Girard said. “Veishea would be another one. There’s no way in knowing or saying who it was.”

Both Van Ryswyk and Girard think the head was stolen because it was easy to detach and infinitely smaller than the rest of the statue—making it easy to carry away. However, Girard said it is still inexcusable.

“I think it was them just deciding to be disrespectful. I think it’s disrespectful to the students because that is something that is part of their university and something specifically that a lot of them felt represented them,” Girard said. “It’s disrespectful to art in general.”

Girard said the body of Solo may be taken down soon. University Museums is trying to create a plan as to what will happen if the head is never returned. Girard said that no matter what, the result will be something different than the original Solo statue.

Girard also said that William King, who is now in his 80s and in poor health, has been very generous and understanding. She mentioned that Iowa State has not approached him about making a replacement due to his health conditions, but King’s fabricator, Jim Barton, could provide an alternative if need be. Fundraising for the alternative could take a number of years.

“That would always be our goal to get that back on view because that one especially we feel like is a really great celebration of students on campus,” Girard said of Solo.

Girard said that students care about the defaced statue because many ISU students chose to attend Iowa State due to the beautiful campus.

“The purpose of the public art collection is really to enhance their education. No matter what their major is, it’s important to get an experience and interaction with culture and with the arts,” Girard said. “Whether they can specifically name these different pieces, that’s not really the point, because it’s part of that overall aesthetic and visual quality of the university.”

Van Ryswyk would like to remind students that if they have any information regarding Solo, they can call ISU police at 515-294-4428 and report anonymously.

“If somebody walks into a dorm room, or a fraternity house, or an apartment and they see it and say, ‘oh hey, that’s cool where’d you get that?'” Van Ryswyk said. “If somebody out there knows something about it, if they’re embarrassed that they were a part of it, or they’re ashamed and would love to find a way to discreetly return it, that would be fine.”