Embarrassing: Cops Arrest Performance Artist For Making 'Bomb'

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Christopher Hackett is a performance artist who lives in Gowanus, Brooklyn and makes art out of old weapons and disposed parts. On Wednesday night, police arrested and charged him after they found what they believed to be bomb-making materials and multiple guns while searching his apartment, an NYPD spokesperson said.

Officers thought he was hiding materials to make bombs in cylinders in his living room, but when the NYPD Bomb Squad inspected them, it found nothing harmful inside. The suspicious-looking materials were actually a part of an art exhibit in Cooper Union in 2005, Hackett's lawyer told the New York Daily News. To keep up with crazy Brooklyn crime stories and other local news, subscribe to your local Brooklyn Patch email newsletter and real-time news alerts on your phone.

Hackett, who lives at 217 Butler St., was still arraigned on charges of owning illegal weapons on Thursday night, the Brooklyn DA said. He was held on $7,500 cash bail. Cops found several guns in his possession in addition to the materials they wrongly believed to be explosive. He had originally allowed the cops to inspect his apartment to look for a suspect in a separate burglary, a police source said.

Hackett, 44, is the director of a Brooklyn art group called Madagascar Institute, which specializes in large-scale sculpting, rides, live performances and guerilla art events, according to the group's website. The website shows several videos of him explaining to novices how he creates concoctions out of metal and other trash. Here's a video of him explaining the gun he made from piecing together plumbing parts. It shoots double-A batteries:

In 2004, Hackett caused an explosion in his apartment while working on an art project (it's not hard to see how), and when cops came to his apartment, they found several firearms, according to a Brooklyn DA spokesperson. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and spent 90 days in jail, the spokesperson said.

Patch's requests for comments to Hackett and Hackett's attorney weren't immediately returned. We'll update this story when they get back to us.

Photo via Vimeo