At the Overland Park Arboretum, you’ll find all the things you should, like beautiful rose gardens, babbling streams, towering oak trees and chirping birds. But what you don’t expect to see is a life-size bronze sculpture of Michael Jackson.
The randomness of seeing the King of Pop among the arboretum’s flora and fauna is exactly what turned the sculpture into one of the city’s quirkiest landmarks. Earlier this year, a TikTok video of the sculpture went viral, racking up 263,000 views and counting.
Contrary to Reddit lore, the sculpture wasn’t the result of an eccentric donor or city official who was a fan of the gloved one. It’s part of the arboretum’s International Sculpture Garden, a section of the park that features 25 large-scale artworks along a nearly half-mile loop through one of the region’s few remaining dry oak savanna ecosystems. Together, the sculpture collection is valued at more than $3.7 million.
“The idea behind the garden was to be a U.S.-China cultural exchange, initiated by sculptor Kwan Wu,” says Julie Freijat-Babel, marketing communications specialist for the City of Overland Park.
If Wu’s name rings a bell, it’s because you’ve most certainly seen his work before. He’s the artist behind the iconic George Brett statue outside Kauffman Stadium, as well as several pieces at the Nelson-Atkins.
The International Sculpture Garden was created through donations from Chinese artists. Michael Jackson’s sculpture, created by Chinese artist Zengkang Lu, is just one of more than two dozen works scattered throughout the garden, which include stone figures inspired by Chinese folklore, modern sculptures that blend Eastern and Western artistic styles, and abstract steel forms.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Michael Jackson has intersected with Kansas City’s public art. Last year, we covered another unlikely connection: a beloved Country Club Plaza sculpture called Monkey Business (at the corner of Nichols Road and Central Street) by Colorado-based sculptor Mark Lundeen. The sculpture is one of just 15 casts ever made, and one of its twins lived at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California.
While the internet may have helped introduce the statue to a new audience, visitors have been making their own pilgrimage for years. “Visitors occasionally leave flowers at his feet on his birthday,” Freijat-Babel says. Overland Park Arboretum. 8909 W. 179th St., Overland Park.
