Students returning to Gainesville for Summer B classes may notice something missing from outside the Fine Arts building: Art.
A stainless steel sculpture that graced the side of Southwest 13th Street for 35 years was vandalized between summer semesters and has been replaced by a giant planter. It was built by the late Geoffrey Naylor, an internationally renowned artist and former UF professor.
The vandals ripped out pipes that allowed water to flow from the sculpture. The damages would cost at least $40,000 to repair, according to The Gainesville Sun article.
The Editorial Board can't help but wonder what was going on in the heads of the vandals, presuming they have anything going on up there at all. The willful destruction of public property is immature; the willful destruction of art is deplorable.
The Editorial Board also extends sympathy to Naylor's wife and former students, who have expressed that Naylor would have wanted the sculpture to be repaired. Unfortunately, the vandalism comes at a time when UF's budget doesn't allow for such a repair.
And to the UF officials who have stated that the sculpture will be scrapped: Certainly something else can be done with the sculpture, even if it is not put back into place. An auction, perhaps? There was also a lot of unoccupied grass beside the Reitz Union last time we checked. And, no matter how hard we try to get our brains to cooperate, we just can't put "giant steel sculpture" into the same category as "crushed Yuengling cans" and "discarded Steak n Shake coupon fliers."
Obviously the sculpture wouldn't function as a fountain anymore if it was moved, but it would still serve as a memorial to the professor who built it.
