Friday, May 2, 2025, 23:28
A group of vandals attacked last Thursday the Parque de las Esculturas de la Arboleda, in Traparan. Specifically, three pieces of the artistic team ‘Elkarrizketa’, the work of Guipuzcoan Iñaki Olazabal. The Association of Basque sculptors reported yesterday this attack “against Basque culture” after remembering that it is not the first time that some of the works exhibited in this outdoor museum are damaged, one of the few of these characteristics in the Basque Country.
Several members of the artistic entity participated yesterday in the recovery of two of the pieces thrown into the water from the top of the slope where they were anchored to the ground. The authors had to trigger them before launching them in a vacuum. The rescue of these two elements was possible thanks to the fact that they are large structures but not very heavy, since the material with which they are made is zinc. In fact, some of them managed to transport it to the shore before transporting it tied with strings to its original location. At the close of this edition, however, the third of the pieces remained in the bed of the well.
The mayor of Traparan, Miguel Ángel Gómez Viar, condemned the attack perpetrated in the park. According to the socialist councilor, “these acts vandalism attempt” against artistic culture, a universal form of communication, which may like less but that as creation must be respected. “
The Meatzalde Goikoa (High Mining Area in Basque) Sculptures Park was promoted by the local artist Guillermo Olmo and has works created by sculptors such as Nestor Basterretxea, José Antonio Legorburu, Jasone Irigoien, Juanjo Novella, Iñigo Arregui, Iñaki Olazabal or the Roscubas brothers, among others.
