University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior Ashlyn Neader said she is calling for the reinstatement of “The Hatched Baby.” Residents of La Crosse may know this statue by its nickname: “The Blue Baby.” The Blue Baby is a sculpture that was on loan to the city of La Crosse by German Artist Wolfgang Auer in 2018. The sculpture was an artistic representation of the anxieties of parenthood, and according to Neader, the sculpture showed the relationship that La Crosse has with its sister city, Friedberg, Germany.

The sculpture resided behind the city hall police station by the Hixon House. Neader said that the Blue Baby was originally displayed in a more public place, but that it was moved to a concealed area due to the public’s reaction. “There was a little bit of backlash when we first got it,” she said. “People didn’t like it- they thought it was really ugly.”

In 2021, the Blue Baby’s head was stolen. Neader said that a group of students stole the head in order to participate in the “devious lick” TikTok challenge. After about a week, a photo was posted to the Barstool Instagram account of the head resting against a couch in an apartment.

“I guess they just didn’t think there would be consequences,” said Neader. “People started to recognize the apartment that was in the background, and it showed up the next day in some random person’s yard.”

Neader said that the head was damaged when it was recovered. She said that the sculpture is made out of wood and paint, and that the back of the head was punched in when it turned up on a King street lawn. “I found out recently that the head was already kind of broken before it was stolen,” said Neader. “Someone had sent me a picture that they had taken with the Blue Baby about a week before it was taken, and the head was tilted to the side, so I believe that the head was already disconnected.”

The city of La Crosse ended up taking down the remains of the sculpture, and Auer assessed the damage before determining it was too much to fix. However, Neader was able to get in contact with the artist to see if there was anything that could be done to bring the Blue Baby back to La Crosse.

“I was a big Blue Baby enthusiast. Honestly, I thought it was really cool that there was so much discussion in the community about it. I know a lot of the discussion was negative, but I think that’s one of the important parts of art. People are feeling a lot of emotions–they’re feeling anger, hatred, or whatever it may be.” said Neader.

After being in contact with Auer, Neader said that he is willing to come to La Crosse to fix the sculpture and then sell it to the city. Neader said that while it’s not about money for Auer, he would need to sell it to be compensated for his time, his travel, his lodging, the materials, and insurance for the sculpture.

According to Neader, Auer was saddened and angered by the news of what had happened to the Blue Baby. She said that it was important to her that she let Auer know that these actions were not representative of La Crosse as a whole, and that the idea to start a petition came about when Auer said that the city needs to see the existing support.

“With the controversy it’s had already, I don’t think they’d want to put in that money for it. But if there is something that shows that there are a lot of people who really care about it, then I think that that could change the city’s attitude about it,” said Neader.

When asked why members of the La Crosse community should care about the Blue Baby, Neader said that the sculpture was a physical representation of the relationship between La Crosse and its sister city of Friedburg, Germany. She said that there is a Facebook group where citizens of either city can join to build personal connections, and that German classes at UWL often contact Friedburg for help in learning the language. Neader said that she feels that the sister city bond was tarnished by what happened to the Blue Baby, and that she wants to try and make amends.

“I want to gather the citizens of La Crosse who care about the Blue Baby and I want to show that there is interest in it, that people do like it, and that what happened to it doesn’t represent the views of the city as a whole. I think the city of La Crosse should know that also because obviously it would be a significant expense for them to bring it back,” she said.

The petition to bring the Blue Baby back to La Crosse can be found here. Neader said that the petition is a project that she decided to take on by herself, and that she is thankful for the support that she has received so far from her friends and from Auer himself. She said that she hopes that other members of the La Crosse community will see value in the Blue Baby and choose to sign her petition. “If I can get to 1000 signatures that would be pretty cool!”

“If you think it’s scary or ugly, that’s fine. It’s art and essentially what it comes down to is that you have strong emotions when you see it. I don’t think everyone has to love it. Art doesn’t have to be beautiful or even visually pleasing. I think art has to be something that can start a discussion, which is exactly what the Blue Baby is doing. I think people should give the Blue Baby a chance,” said Neader.

Gallery • 3 Photos

"The Hatched Baby." Photo retrieved from change.org.