Smack dab between Emanuel Cleaver II and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards in Brush Creek, a tall and striking metallic form rises above the bushes. At first glance, it almost looks like Pac-Man going in for the chomp.
This sculpture, known as Cantilever Drum, sits boldly on the island of Lake of the Enshriners. But it hasn’t always been there. The sculpture is known for its restless journey around the city, and it all began with a showcase to display local students’ art.
The drum was crafted in the ’70s by late sculptor Dick Hollander, whose pieces also reside in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence and the Nelson-Atkins. This whimsical artwork first dwelled on the boulevard at 36th and Gillham.
“The sculpture was part of a program with the Kansas City Art Institute called Sculpture on the Boulevard,” Kansas City Parks and Recreation archivist Angela Moss says. “According to the guidelines of the program, selected art was supposed to be in place for a minimum of six months, so when the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department decided to keep the sculpture, it needed to be moved to a more permanent location.”
Moss located a public letter in the KC Parks archives from landscape architect James O’Shea, in which he outlined the vision behind scattering these art pieces around town. “The intention to place sculptures in public areas where they could add to the cultural fabric of the city would increase cultural advantages and promote the artistic works of the students,” he wrote.
According to O’Shea, before a sculpture was installed, the artist would present their work to the Kansas City Municipal Art Commission. Then, in May of 1978, the process was expanded to require approval from the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, too. This added layer of oversight is part of why Cantilever Drum’s story is so deeply intertwined with KC Parks.
By late 1978, Cantilever Drum was relocated from its original home at 36th and Gillham to Swope Park, positioned next to the Kansas City Parks administration building at the time. However, when plans arose to relocate the administration building to its current home on the island at Brush Creek in the ’90s, the sculpture was uprooted once again to its current residence on Lake of the Enshriners. Is this its final resting place? Only time will tell.
