LACROSSE, Wis. – Mayor Mitch Reynolds apologized to German sculptor Wolfgang Aeur for vandalism to his work “Hatched Baby” outside City Hall last weekend. Reynolds expressed chagrin that there are people in LaCrosse who thought so little of Aeur’s generosity that they sought to destroy his art. The work was on loan to LaCrosse as a friendship gesture from the German city of Friedberg, which is Auer’s home and LaCrosse’s sister city.
Earlier: Arts Board: Dialogue on art needs to trump vandalism
Verbatim
“’Hatched Baby’ may not have been the favorite of everyone in our community, but neither is any art meant for the public square. As others have said in the past, art in some ways is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Art is also meant to provoke thought and wonder and coerce our imagination into growth.”
Reynolds. Mayor chagrined.