Controversial Sculpture at Walker Art Center Will Be Ceremonially Burned 

By Hazel Cills  |  June 1, 2017 | 6:20pm
Entertainment

After protests concerning the removal of controversial Sam Durant sculpture Scaffold, which recreates a series of famous gallows including one used to hang 38 Native men during the US-Dakota War of 1862, the artwork will now be dismantled starting Friday and then burned in a ceremony.

According to Hyperallergic, the removal of the wood will take at least four days and the exact location for the burning has not been decided yet. The ceremony will be led by the Dakota Spiritual Leaders and Elders who spoke out against Scaffold and met with Durant and the Walker Art Center for a meditation after protests.

The Walker has also agreed to never construct this artwork again. Durant has also reportedly confirmed he will never create Scaffold again and will also transfer the intellectual property rights to the Dakota people.

“As the Executive Director of the Walker, I regret the pain that this artwork has brought to the Dakota community and others,” Walker Executive Director Olga Viso wrote in a statement earlier this week.

 
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