A big blue metal sculpture called "Blue" by artist Joel Shapiro has been removed from the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, where it was installed in 2019. The removal occurred on Wednesday, with the sculpture set to be reassembled and possibly reinstalled elsewhere. According to former curator Josef Palermo, the Trump administration had considered removing the sculpture due to its perceived meaning, although the center's current administration has expressed gratitude for Shapiro's work. A crowd of people, including the author, gathered to bid farewell to the 24-foot-tall sculpture, which was seen as a symbol of perpetual motion and possibility.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A 24-foot-tall metal sculpture called Blue, created by artist Joel Shapiro (who passed away last year), has been removed from the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. The sculpture, which featured a giant stick figure with extended limbs, was installed on the REACH part of the Kennedy Center's grounds in 2019 and had become a familiar landmark in the city. According to sculptor Shapiro, Blue represented "action, risk, performance, and energy" as well as a celebration of possibility. The removal of the sculpture comes after Josef Palermo, the former curator of visual arts at the Kennedy Center, was let go in March.
Written for “Monument Removed from Public Space” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 4700: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-05
A big blue presence has vanished from the landscape of Washington DC.
asserted
presence → vanish → DC
On Wednesday a crew removed a 24-foot-tall metal sculpture called Blue, by Joel Shapiro, from the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
asserted
crew → remove → Arts
Our family turned out to say goodbye.
asserted
family → turn → goodbye
Blue is a giant stick figure with what seems to be four limbs, standing on what might be one leg, while the other is lifted.
uncertain
other → seem → ?
The upper-most limbs, which look like arms, are extended.
asserted
which → look → arms
The work was installed on that part of the Kennedy Center's grounds called The REACH, which opened in 2019.
asserted
which → instal → 2019
I've always thought it seemed an artful fit in that place, which before the Center became a source of controversy during the Trump presidency, abounded just about every night with music, dance, and all kinds of shows — available to the public for free.
asserted
which → think → public
"It's about action and risk and performance and energy," sculptor Joel Shapiro, who died last year, said in a video about Blue that was on the Kennedy Center website, "It's a celebration of possibility."
asserted
It → die → possibility
But Josef Palermo, who was let go this past March as curator of visual arts and special programming at the Kennedy Center, told the New York Times this week that Blue had been "targeted early on" for removal by the Trump administration, which might have seen something else in the sculpture.
uncertain
which → let → sculpture
The Kennedy Center, where President Trump's supporters are now in charge, issued a statement saying, "We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision."
asserted
Blue → issue → vision
I think part of what made Blue so engaging is that the figure in implied perpetual motion along the capital's riverfront stirred people to imagine for themselves what might have set the big blue figure to whirl, spin, stomp, or prance.
uncertain
what → think → figure
We met a man at the dismantling who works for the artist's foundation who told us that Blue will be cleaned, reassembled, and, he was sure, reinstalled in some new spot.
asserted
he → meet → spot
Maybe removing Joel Shapiro's Blue so summarily from its perch at the Kennedy Center will make people even more eager to seek out the towering figure who caused such a stir.
asserted
who → remove → stir
