NEW ORLEANS – On Sept. 25, Neal Auction Co. will offer #POKÉMONUMENT, an installation piece which mysteriously appeared during the early morning hours of July 31 this year in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District’s Coliseum Square finger park at Terpsichore Street.

The bronzed fiberglass statue, which depicts the Pokémon figure Pikachu, has generated international attention and has become a social media sensation. Dubbed “guerilla art,” “stealth sculpture” and a “monument to pop culture,” visitors have come from around the world to view the beloved figure.

The statue has also been met with controversy and vandalism. To prevent further damage to the work, the anonymous artists have decided upon its removal and sale at public auction, with all the proceeds benefiting the Lower Garden District Parks & Fountains Fund.

In a written statement the artists claim: #Pokémonument was never conceived to be a permanent installation. We would like to use that positive momentum the statue has garnered to bring about a larger, more permanent change for our community. We have donated #Pokémonument to the Coliseum Square Association to be auctioned off to help fund the restoration of the fountains in the park.” More at http://pokemonumentnola.wixsite.com/pokegone

Neal Auction to offer #POKÉMONUMENT [aka Pikachu] within its Important Fall Estates Auction on Sunday, Sept. 25.