COLUMBUS, Ind. — The public art piece, Decathexis, is no longer on display at the Columbus Park and Recreation facility near 11th and Jackson Streets. The artwork, by Anthony Heinz May of Brooklyn, New York, was originally placed on the lawn at city hall in 2014, but was moved to accommodate the 9/11 ceremony in 2015.
The relocation of the work of art sparked controversy among members of the arts community. At the time curator for the 2014 Columbus Indiana Sculpture Biennial, David Kadlec said, “it is rare to have a sculptor and their heartfelt creation so gracefully exhibit the passage of time. Our tax dollars are poised to be spent for censorship. Civic power used to move artwork to a less visible location because of aesthetic judgement is a variant of book burning. Moving the sculpture sets a bad precedent for Columbus.” Now, it would appear the artwork has unceremoniously gone missing.
The contract between the Columbus Area Arts Council and The Biennial Project requires the city to pay the expense of moving any of the pieces, if it is at their discretion. The contract with the artist expired in June 2016.
The official description of the piece is that it is a pixelated representation of a living tree. May says, “The pixelated tree serves as a pessimistic reminder of what humans have done to the environment.”
The piece is still listed on the arts council website. A portion of the description reads as follows, “ While it no longer resides at City Hall, it nonetheless stands elegantly at its present location and, perhaps even more poetically, evokes sentiments of change and loss.”