Daniel Buren has threatened to destroy his signature black-and-white striped columns in the Palais Royal courtyard in Paris, saying the government has let them go to ruin, the London Times reports. The 260 columns, which form Les Deux Plateaux (1986), one of Paris’s most controversial sculptures, are crumbling, the lights for illuminating them are broken, and the fountain has run dry.
In response, culture minister Christine Albanel said Palais Royal would undergo a $20.6 million restoration starting in 2009, with up to $4.7 million allocated to the courtyard and the sculpture. Buren said he had been pressing the Culture Ministry to repair his site-specific sculpture; his supporters said the renovation may come too late.
This is from Artinfo