the time capsule wasnt hidden, it was under a marker that basically read "here lies a time capsule, buried blah blah blah"...lol...i dont know if it was removed or not though.....
as far as the sculptor, or any art for that matter. art has taken a dark turn over the past 10 years or so. young artists all go through a phase of "anti establishment" and a stage of where they think their works have to be "shocking" or questionable. in todays world of prints and art being sold for pennies at every home decor store or walmart. they think the only way to stand out is by being controversial. sadly, there is some truth to that as demonstrated by what gets pointed out by the masses. (which is also a sign of the times and a sign of peoples opposition or dis satisfaction with the current state of society as a whole, but that is another topic )....while i may not agree with everyones choice of expression, or the meaning to a piece.. that is what art is supposed to be at the root, to draw out an emotion or feeling in an individual, ...could something have an underlying meaning?, sure. happens all the time, especially in art... but that is what the freedome of expression or speech is meant to protect. as far as what an individual thinks of something is irrelevent to the overall cause..... if i dont like something it isnt up to me as an individual to decide if it should be destroyed or banned. if we go down that road we will soon find ourselves doing exactly the opposite of what we are trying to protect.... our way of life is built on a fragile system that must be looked at from a much bigger picture than just nit picking the small stuff piece by piece. anything can have a "what if" or "this or that" type debate but those type "arguments" never take into account anything past the present discussion or idea...sometimes the "tomorrow" or "next week" or "next year" is more important than the current 5 minutes of debate.....