Jaume Plensa Sculpture Collapses Outside Notre Dame Museum.

Last month, a 36-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture designed by Jaume Plensa collapsed outside Notre Dame’s Lacklin Murphy Museum of Art, and museum officials said the cause of the failure remains unclear, Notre Dame’s student newspaper reported. observer.

Work, EndlessAfter sitting outside the museum for nearly three years, it was discovered broken in two on December 10. No injuries were reported, and officials said there was only minor damage to the surrounding concrete.

“We don’t know what happened,” museum director and curator Joseph Becherer told reporters. observerIt added that there was no evidence that external force caused the collapse.

As a precaution, museum staff dismantled and removed the remainder of the sculpture that day. The work is currently being stored at an undisclosed location while officials determine next steps.

To be installed in 2023 as a permanent outdoor board, Endless Created specifically for the museum by Plensa, it was donated by alumnus Charles Hayes ’65, who also funded the adjacent Hayes Sculpture Park. Composed of multiple letters of the alphabet, the sculpture reflects themes the artist often uses to explore language and shared humanity.

Becheller said the museum performs regular maintenance and annual inspections of its outdoor works, making the collapse an unexpected development for the institution.