The Art Guys' 'Statue of Four Lies' Time Capsule to Be Opened at University of Houston
On Saturday, September 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, the University of Houston System's Public Art (PAUHS) will unveil the time capsule located within The Art Guys' 2010 creation, 'Statue of Four Lies,' at Lynn Eusan Park. This complimentary event will include live music, cupcakes, and a petting zoo, with guests encouraged to bring a deck of cards. Additionally, a panel discussion is scheduled for September 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the University of Houston Hilton. The bronze artwork satirizes Harvard's 'Statue of Three Lies' and features falsehoods regarding its sealing date and the university's establishment. Massing, who will be present, emphasized the date's importance and elaborated on the falsehoods. Galbreth passed away in 2019.
Key facts
- The time capsule reveal for 'Statue of Four Lies' takes place September 26 from 10 a.m. to noon at Lynn Eusan Park, University of Houston
- A panel discussion is scheduled September 25, 6-7 p.m., at the University of Houston Hilton's Waldorf Astoria E Ballroom
- The Art Guys are Jack Massing and Michael Galbreth; Galbreth died in 2019
- PAUHS commissioned the bronze sculpture in 2010
- The sculpture parodies the 'Statue of Three Lies' at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- The sculpture's inscription falsely claims the capsule was sealed in 1958 and that September 26, 2026 is the university's 100th anniversary; UH libraries cite March 7, 2027 as the founding date
- PAUHS curator Michael Guidry notes the dedication plaque's 'Erected circa 1983' as a third lie and that the work forms a smiley face from above
- A Latin inscription on the shellstone wall reads 'Mundus vult decipi ergo decipatur'
Entities
Artists
- The Art Guys
- Jack Massing
- Michael Galbreth
- Michael Guidry
- Richard H. Armstrong
- John Harvard
- Pecos Hank
- Trevor Nolley
Institutions
- Public Art of the University of Houston System
- University of Houston
- Harvard University
- Glasstire
- University of Houston Hilton
- Waldorf Astoria
- The Cougar
- Houston Public Media
Locations
- Houston
- United States
- Cambridge
- Massachusetts
- Lynn Eusan Park