SALT LAKE CITY — The 9th and 9th neighborhood in Salt Lake City awoke Wednesday to find a prominent whale statue had been graffitied with an apparent political message just days before the national election.
The whale statue, titled “Out of the Blue,” was commissioned and built in 2022 by the Salt Lake City Art Design Board. The statue quickly became a well-known landmark, garnering attention on social media and serving as a directional tool for locals. The landmark became one for marathoners who train by circling the whale until they reach their targeted milage.
But on Wednesday, the towering whale was wearing the voting display with Election Day just seven days away.
A political message was defaced with a political graffiti art on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2024, just a week before the 2024 Election Day. (Greg Anderson, KSL TV)
The message depicted three individuals and the words “Did you vote?” on the whale’s back left side. Two of the individuals appear to be Nazi officers with Republican and Democrat party logos on their armbands, and the third person is sitting on a toilet.
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Salt Lake City crews removed the graffiti within hours. Salt Lake City police said they were treating the incident as a “criminal mischief” investigation, but did not have any further updates.
“This was very clearly a concentrated effort to create a message for the folks who drive up and down this road,” said Kristina Robb, chair of East Liberty Park Community Organization, which oversees the area where the whale is located.
“We work really hard to elevate the area around here, the businesses and residents and try and keep it as happy and friendly and welcoming as possible,” Robb said.
She said the statue has been vandalized several times.
“It gets tagged quite often just with rambly, undefined script, mostly, I’m assuming young folks,” Robb said.
She said this image, which appears to be stenciled, is different.
“This piece was a little bit more detailed, had a stronger message, but not at all surprising that people would utilize public art or a public landmark in order to get their public art message across about voting,” Robb said.
The whale is actually called “Out of the Blue,” and it was designed to represent the eclectic 9th and 9th neighborhood that it lives in. There are plans to repaint it with a different theme every few years.
“Whether you love it or hate it, everybody has learned to embrace it,” Robb said.
Robb said the graffiti removal is costly.
“It is taxpayer money that goes into cleaning it up,” she said.
She said she doesn’t condone this vandalism, but said the person or people behind it succeeded in sending an attention-getting message.
“If you’re going to be a graffiti artist and you’re going to have something to say, I couldn’t have picked a better spot,” Robb said.
The implications of the political meaning are open to interpretation, but the stylistic technique used is similar to that of the famous street artist Banksy.
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call 801-799-3000.
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call 801-799-3000.
This is a developing story. It may be updated.