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Art stunt a double barrel o'laughs


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Talk about heavy art-tillery.

Police yesterday seized a scary-looking sculpture of a cannon made out of garbage from an empty lot on Canal Street near SoHo - just a stone's throw from the Holland Tunnel.

The piece appeared to be by notorious forger/sculptor Alfredo Martinez, who is holding an exhibition of weaponlike works dubbed "Arsenal for Democracy" at a nearby gallery.

It's not clear why police grabbed the work, though an official familiar with the incident said community members complained that the item had been abandoned and was an eyesore.

At no time did police think the piece was really a weapon, and it caused no terror jitters at the sensitive entrance to the tunnel.

Police also said they were not looking to question Martinez, who spent more than a year in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2002 to forging drawings by graffiti legend Jean-Michel Basquiat and selling them in SoHo.

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