Curious SouthCoast: Why was the giant squid removed from the New Bedford Whaling Museum?

Kathryn Gallerani, Standard-Times
·2 min read

Squid are excellent at hiding due to their ability to change color and adapt to their environment.

Unfortunately, the iconic squid sculpture outside the New Bedford Whaling Museum isn’t exercising its ability to camouflage itself.

The giant orange cephalopod that was wrapped around a square column at the main entrance for the last 13 years was removed Tuesday from its space. The weather had taken a toll on the sculpture and the cost to repair it was exorbitant, leaving removal the only option.

The sculpture was installed in 2011 as a temporary sculpture garden, according to the Whaling Museum's Communications and Marketing Manager Drew Furtado.

Enzo Cruz removes the iconic squid sculpture from the entrance of the Whaling Museum in New Bedford. The weather had taken a toll on the sculpture by local artist Erik Durant and needed to be removed.
Enzo Cruz removes the iconic squid sculpture from the entrance of the Whaling Museum in New Bedford. The weather had taken a toll on the sculpture by local artist Erik Durant and needed to be removed.

"It was designed to be a temporary installation, but the Museum and visitors loved it so much, we decided to keep it and are delighted it lasted so long," he said.

The sculpture was the creation of local artist Erik Durant, who painstakingly made repairs to give it the added lifespan, he said.

A LOOK BACK: When the sculpture exhibit was installed outside the museum

Fast forward to 2023, the squid’s worsening condition dictated that removal was the safest option, he said. Out of an abundance of caution for public safety, it was time to retire the squid. The Whaling Museum said to look out for new sculpture installations this summer.

About the artist

Durant, a New Bedford sculptor and Master of Fine Arts graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, was one of eight artists participating in a show of outdoor sculpture titled “In the Unequal Cross-Lights – Contemporary Sculptures Respond to the Whaling Museum Collections.”

At the time, Durant was coordinator of the Fine Arts Program at Bristol Community College where he was a teacher.

The sculptures were to remain on view for a year. Durant’s was at the entrance for 13 years. The museum has returned the squid to Durant, who will place it on display in his Hatch Street Studios.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Iconic orange squid created by sculptor Erik Durant to be relocated