LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – The head of Louisville’s Commission on Public Art (COPA) has resigned in protest over plans to restore and return the statue of Louis XVI.
Chris Reitz announced his resignation in an editorial published in the Courier Journal.
He said in part, “I fear that the real aim of these funds (is) to send a message that our city is hostile to anti-police protests, and that we prefer to pretend Miss Taylor’s killing never happened (than) face the fact that not enough has changed to prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The statue of King Louis XVI has not been seen in public since it was spray-painted and damaged during social justice protests 5 years ago.
In April, a company hired to stabilize the statue discovered 32 cracks totaling nearly 900 inches, and multiple missing pieces.
A report to the city said “the sculpture is in poor condition,” and “the sculpture should not be displayed outdoors.”
“It seems that the desire to fix it with $200,000 is more about sending a message to the protesters, to Black Lives Matter — I don’t know, I don’t want to put words in anybody’s mouth– than it was about really caring for preserving art in our Collection,” Reitz said Friday. “That’s not something I want to be a part of or have my name associated with.”
Reitz argues that the anti-police graffiti left behind by the social justice protests of 2020 are now part of the statue’s history and should not be erased.
It is a position shared by presidents of the American Institute for Conservation, and the Foundation for Advancement of Conservation, who sent a letter to city officials urging “the council to take time and engage stakeholders in a more comprehensive conversation about the statue,” and, “take great care when considering any reversible treatment decision such as a decision to remove the signs of protest.”
“That strikes me as sort of beyond simply, hey, we care about this King, we love the statue, he’s our namesake, let’s do what we can to get him back,” Reitz said. “Because he won’t go back, he can’t go back, and so it’s more about removing the words, and it is about repairing the statue.”
Calls for comment from Metro Council Leadership and the Mayor’s Office produced only one reply.
Republican caucus leader Anthony Piagentini said, “Chris Reitz’s opinion is not relevant to that decision. He does not represent the community. The elected Metro Council in 2020 voted to clean this statue, and we reaffirmed that vote in multiple budgets. The people have spoken, and we must move forward. I appreciate his resignation, and I look forward to appointing someone who represents the will of the people on COPA.”
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