Thieves take 300-pound sculpture in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) - Size apparently didn't deter thieves from stealing a 300-pound (135-kilogram) sculpture from a former Chicago church.

Plamen Yordanov told WLS-TV that his sculpture, titled "Light Infinity," was stolen Wednesday while he and his wife were outside the building doing yard work. It's made of brass and stained glass and it's shaped like a large ring.

The sculpture has been displayed in New York and Chicago and was supposed to go to St. Louis next week for several months. Yordanov wonders if the thieves simply want to make money off the brass.

"I just hope they will change their thinking to appreciate a piece of art that an artist worked hard for," said Yordanov's wife, Ivliana Foghis.

Yordanov is creating an art center in a burned-out church in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. The couple said they were warned about moving their studio to the neighborhood. But they said plans won't change, despite the theft. Yordanov is challenging the city's plan to demolish the church.

"Next year, in two years, I strongly believe this will be a nice art center here," said Yordanov.