Albuquerque, New Mexico. Anyone who has visited the Albuquerque Biopark Botanical Garden has probably seen the colorful fountain right at the entrance.
After 27 years, the city of Albuquerque is getting rid of Rosalie Doolittle's fountain due to its current condition.
However, the artist who created it, Shel Neimark, spread the news about the importance of the fountain.
"I think it's important for the people of Albuquerque to know what they're missing, and that's why I made this offer," Neymar said in a video posted on YouTube.
Neumark explains in detail how he created the fountain because he only had sketches and drawings.
The fountain was Neumark's largest public art project, and he spent two years developing the design for the fountain before starting the project in 1996.
In the video, Neymar also points out the mistake City made with his creativity.
"I hope this will be helpful for the Botanic Gardens and the Public Art Authority to understand where they went wrong and why this is happening," he said.
Neimark says he has offered to help maintain the product several times, but his attempts to cooperate have been unsuccessful.
"I think I knew what the problem was and wrote a letter to the park offering to replace it for free," he said. "I was told that the Bioparc manager did not want me to work on site and that he would hire someone else to do it."
While the city's Arts Council may vote on Feb. 15 to shelve the piece, Neimark can only hope the city and the up-and-coming artists they work with can at least learn a lesson.
"I hope that the Public Art Aoard will never treat an artwork or an artist in this way again," he said.
In a statement to KOB 4, the city said it is looking into Neymar's video and the official statement he made to the Arts Council in January. After Tuesday's vote, it will be two months before a final decision is made.
