UNTITLED (ESSEN)

In 1996, a sculpture by Serge Spitzer was installed at Kennedyplatz in Essen. The sculpture doesn’t really have a proper name. Serge Spitzer later claimed that it had been called “Untitled (ESSEN)” from the very beginning. For years, the work sat there neglected. A local newspaper claimed that the sculpture was the most unpopular in the city. Covered in graffiti, littered with trash inside, misused as a public urinal, and damaged by improper cleaning: the condition of Spitzer’s sculpture reflects how it is valued. In April 2010, there was an effort to remove the controversial sculpture from Kennedyplatz and relocate it. Spitzer fought back and threatened legal action, after which the relocation was (for the time being) off the table.