Nike von Linz, Aluminum sculpture at University of Arts in Linz, Austria

Nike von Linz is a 7.5-metre reproduction of the ancient Nike of Samothrace, made by Haus-Rucker-Co in 1977. Two mirrored, silvery aluminium sheets, each cut to the statue's outline, are set at an angle like wings projecting from a body. They rest on an 8-metre steel lattice girder inclined upward, modelled on El Lissitzky's speaker's tribune for Lenin.

Created in 1977 by Haus-Rucker-Co for the forum metall, the 7.5-metre, 500-kilogram sculpture stood on the roof of the Brückenkopfgebäude at Hauptplatz 8. After protests from politicians and readers' letters, it was dismantled at the end of 1979 and stored in Frankfurt am Main. It returned to Linz in 2016 and has stood in Domgasse 1 since 21 October 2016.

The sculpture's nickname, "Skandalengel" (scandal angel), came from the public uproar: opponents called it a "Verschandelung des Hauptplatzes" (disfigurement of the main square) and a "Fetzenvogel" (rag bird). Artists such as Christo, Joseph Beuys, Friederike Mayröcker and Ernst Jandl spoke out for keeping it. Sculptor Heinz Baumüller organized a letter campaign and an art action at the Taubenmarkt to save it.

The sculpture now stands at the University of Arts on Domgasse 1, mounted on a steel lattice tube support tilted upward. It is an outdoor work, so it can be viewed from the surrounding street without entering the building. Look up to see the two aluminum plates set at an angle to each other.

The two aluminum plates were produced at the United Metal Works in Ranshofen-Berndorf, where an image of the ancient Nike of Samothrace was enlarged to 7.5 meters and transferred onto them. The sculpture weighs 500 kilograms and stands on an 8-meter steel lattice tube modeled on El Lissitzky's speaker's tribune for Lenin.