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Arc of History rock will be auctioned online

Sculpture’s metal base will be sold to salvage company

The rocks from the Arc of History are ready for a new, perhaps less symbolic, life, and may go up for auction next week.

Two weeks ago, the controversial sculpture was removed from the U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection with a blowtorch, after city officials decided the sculpture was too damaged to be auctioned as one piece, said Director of City Operations Levi Lloyd.

“The sculpture, as a sculpture, was no longer usable,” he said.

City crews took the stones off the metal body of the sculpture and placed them on pallets in preparation to be auctioned on publicsurplus.com, he said.

The Public Art Commission was informed of the plan for the sculpture earlier this week, Durango City Councilor Dean Brookie said.

“As in all aspects in the city of Durango, we support recycling,” said Brookie, who is a liaison to the commission.

The commission decided to take the sculpture down after it was damaged by vandals. When the city and the commission researched repairing the sculpture, they found out they likely could not afford it. The amount required for repairs was later disputed by the artist, and he considered a lawsuit that would have required the city to repair the sculpture. But the matter was dropped.

The city will not accept less than $250 for the 4½ pallets of rock, Lloyd said. He estimated there may be a ton of rock on the pallets.

The rocks have adhesive around the square center cut outs, but he expects they will appeal to someone, potentially for a landscaping project.

The process is similar to an eBay auction and tends to heat up on the final day, he said.

The money from the auction could cover the cost of removing the damaged sculpture, he said.

City staff have cut up the metal base, and it will be sold by the pound to Belt Salvage.

The total cost of the Arc of History was $28,000 and the city received $23,000 from the insurance company to use at its discretion. This could be used to buy another work of art for the intersection.

The city could weld a new sculpture to the metal stump that remains at the intersection, Lloyd said.

The Public Art Commission would seek public feedback on any potential purchases, Brookie said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Oct 12, 2016
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Oct 6, 2016
Stones from Arc of History are for sale
Sep 16, 2016
Torch slices through Arc of History; sculpture is hauled away
Sep 9, 2016
Arc refuses to fade into history
Aug 29, 2016
Arc of History lawsuit threat dropped
Aug 2, 2016
Arc of History artist considers legal action


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