Houdini sculpture continues to escape public view
The "Metamorphosis" sculpture, shown here in 2003, once graced Houdini Plaza in Appleton. (Photo: File/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
Question: Where is the sculpture "Metamorphosis" that represented a Houdini trick? It used to be in Houdini Plaza. I think it is the most interesting sculpture that Appleton owns, and I want to know when and where it will be displayed again.
Answer: The whereabouts of "Metamorphosis" aren't as mysterious as Harry Houdini's tricks. The sculpture is lying, on its side, outside the Appleton parks and recreation facility at Memorial Park.
The artwork's future, though, is about as certain as Houdini's return from the grave.
"There's been talk off and on about bringing it back out," said Chad Doran, Appleton's communications coordinator. "There's some people in the arts community who are really pushing to have it brought back out. I don't know that anything is imminent."
"Metamorphosis," by Richard C. Wolter, is an abstract metal box that is balanced on the point of one of its corners and draped with a padlocked chain. It pays tribute to Houdini's famous trick in which he escaped from a chain-bound trunk.
The iconic sculpture anchored Houdini Plaza from 1985 to 2010, when it was removed because the base was deteriorating.
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Alex Schultz, president of Sculpture Valley, a nonprofit arts advocacy group in the Fox Cities, said Appleton made a mistake by removing "Metamorphosis" from Houdini Plaza. He wishes the 2013 renovation of the plaza would have reserved a spot for the piece.
"Everybody recognized it as being part of the plaza," he said. "Having taken it out and not incorporated it into the redesign, I think, was just shortsighted."
The "Metamorphosis" sculpture as it appears today. (Photo: Courtesy of Appleton)
Schultz recommends restoring the sculpture and mounting it in the center of the roundabout at the east end of the College Avenue bridge. He said the location was proposed to the city but "wasn't met with much enthusiasm."
Doran said placing the sculpture in the roundabout, or any other roundabout, poses safety considerations.
"That's probably why it hasn't gone out there in one of those yet," Doran said.
A large eagle statue in the roundabout at Winneconne Avenue and Green Bay Road in Neenah doesn't appear to be causing problems, Schultz said.
"Why is that not an issue in Neenah but would be an issue in Appleton?" he asked.
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Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@postcrescent.com or call 920-993-7176.