Who is Mack Brightman? Why was his name scrawled in black marker across the lower abdomen of an acrobat on the sculpture in front of Redeker? This mysterious vandal and his intentions are unknown.

According to Daniel Perry, UNI’s Public Art Incubator, vandalism on public art structures is not common due to their location in highly trafficked and generally well lit areas.

“I serve on the Cedar Falls Public Art Committee and we rarely deal with instances of vandalism on our sculptures on Main Street and throughout the community,” Perry said. “Similarly here at UNI, we don’t see much vandalism, but there is occasionally an instance that occurs such as this.”

UNI’s Chief of Police, Helen Haire, also notes vandalism on UNI’s campus is extraordinarily rare, with most cases using washable chalk. As of now, no report has been filed with the UNI Police Department.

“Obviously it’s not something we want people to do,” Haire said. “It is vandalism because it takes a little bit of effort to clean it off.”

The Acrobat sculpture is over 50 years old and was recently restored in 2020. According to Perry, the restoration included, “repairing the internal structure and restoring the fiberglass surface with modern products and materials which should help ease the process of removing the graffiti and keep the artwork in good standing for years to come.”

The vandal’s name has since been cleaned off of the acrobat.