Critics Slam “Petty” Removal of Joel Shapiro Sculpture From Kennedy Center

The removal of a 24-foot-tall sculpture by late artist Joel Shapiro from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has sparked criticism from various quarters. On September 2, crews began the process of wrapping, disassembling, and relocating the sculpture titled "Blue" (2019) to an undisclosed new location. The National Park Service (NPS) announced the move without providing a reason or prior notice, releasing a street-closure notice a few days prior to signify the completion of the deinstallation by the following Wednesday.

The removal of "Blue" has caused significant disruptions on the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, a crucial route into the city. The sculpture, painted aluminum and featuring rectangular appendages resembling arms and legs in the artist's signature stick-figure style, was one of the ten inaugural works of visual art when the Kennedy Center's 4.6-acre REACH campus opened in September 2019.

The Kennedy Center's own description of the piece, published in a 2019 announcement on its website, referred to it as "poised in mid-kick, turning the surrounding landscape into a giant stage as it prepares to pirouette across the grass."

Joel Shapiro, the artist behind "Blue," passed away last year at the age of 83. The sculpture, which is held in several collections across Washington D.C., including the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, was described by the Kennedy Center as "poised in mid-kick." The fate of "Blue" after its relocation remains unknown, as the decision on its next installation will be made by the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation.