$1 million globe sculpture collapses at Georgia university

<p>Perhaps the glue that held the world together came apart.</p><p>Whatever the reason, a 175-ton sculpture called "Spaceship Earth" lay in ruins at Kennesaw State University after mysteriously collapsing in the middle of the night, scarcely three months after it was unveiled.</p><p>University officials say they suspect the glue failed.</p><p>The Finnish-born sculptor says he is devastated.</p><p>And a $1 million piece of art, intended to remind future generations of Earth's fragility, was transformed into a pile of rubble in front of the Social Sciences building. The engraved phrase "our fragile craft" was visible amid the debris.</p><p>"Kind of ironic," said Mary-Elizabeth Watson, a university employee. "I had no idea it was made up of so many pieces."</p><p>The Finnish-born sculptor who goes by one name, Eino, called it "Spaceship Earth" to honor environmentalist David Brower, a leader of the Sierra Club. It depicted a bronze figure of Brower standing atop the globe. The sculpture collapsed on Dec. 28.</p><p>"How can stone collapse by itself?" Eino asked. "I'm devastated."</p><p>The university suspects that water leakage or weak glue might be to blame, but Eino said he used a resin made specially for stone. He said he worked with an engineer and was assured that the globe would stay in one piece.</p><p>Eino worked on it for about two years. He traveled to Brazil to find blue quartzite and spent about four months meticulously piecing it together.</p><p>The founders of California-based PowerBar paid for the sculpture.</p><p>Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are looking into the possibility that someone vandalized the sculpture, said Frances Weyand, a spokeswoman for Kennesaw State.</p><p>Eino, who lived in north Georgia in the late 1990s and now lives outside Las Vegas, vowed to restore "Spaceship Earth" to its former glory, with structural modifications. Rebuilding will start as early as next month, he said.</p><p>"I want to rebuild it and build it stronger than ever," Eino said. "It has to be made safe."</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdbe28)</p>