University of Houston opens 16-year time capsule inside The Statue of Four Lies

The University of Houston and artist Jack Massing opened a time capsule hidden inside The Statue of Four Lies at the university’s Lynn Eusan Park in Houston on September 26, 2026. According to The Cougar’s September 29 account, the 16-year wait ended with a suitcase of ordinary objects and a second capsule scheduled to remain closed for decades more.

The opening brought a concealed part of the campus sculpture into public view. Michael Galbreth and Massing, the University of Houston alumni known as The Art Guys, had instructed that the capsule embedded in the artwork’s limestone wall stay sealed until September 26, 2026, according to the university. Their work was commissioned by Public Art University of Houston System and dedicated in 2010.

What was inside The Statue of Four Lies capsule

The Cougar reported that the opened capsule contained a suitcase holding two pairs of underwear: one featuring the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes and another with a Krispy Kreme theme. Old socks were also inside. The newspaper reported a combination of numbers, but said its meaning was unknown at the time. The contents, as described in that account, fit the artists’ long-standing use of everyday objects and humor.

There was another reveal within the first: The Cougar reported that a second time capsule had been placed inside it. The newspaper said that capsule is due to be opened on April 1, 2083. Its contents remain unknown. The reported date extends the artwork’s sequence of delayed discoveries well beyond the opening that took place this September.

Why the sculpture gives a false centennial date

The date chosen for the first opening is itself part of the work. The sculpture presents September 26, 2026, as the university’s 100th anniversary, but the University of Houston says it was founded in 1927. Its centennial falls in 2027. The discrepancy is deliberate, according to the university’s account of the sculpture, whose title invites visitors to search for four lies without identifying them.

The work carries a Latin inscription that the university translates as ‘the world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.’ University of Houston’s description traces the idea to Harvard University’s Statue of Three Lies, a monument associated with three historical inaccuracies. The Art Guys adapted that premise into a campus artwork where apparent facts, the promised count of lies and even an opening date ask viewers to look again.

Massing described that approach to The Cougar at the opening: ‘We like to use wit and humor to animate our work and then open it up for more questions.’ He said the figures were placed at ground level so students could interact with them. The university describes The Statue of Four Lies as a ‘performance sculpture,’ one that continues through the actions and interpretations of its audience.

A campus artwork designed for participation

Public Art University of Houston System lists bronze, stone, concrete, plantings and a codex among the work’s materials, and places it outside Cougar Village 1. The university says students have decorated and interacted with the figures over the years, making those encounters part of the artwork’s continuing life on campus. That history gives the capsule opening a role beyond displaying objects that had been hidden since 2010.

The artists’ collaboration ran from 1983 through 2016, according to Public Art University of Houston System. Galbreth died in 2019, so Massing represented the duo at this year’s opening. A companion Codex containing further clues is held in University of Houston Libraries Special Collections, the university says. The sculpture remains part of the campus public art collection, while the second capsule carries one more planned reveal into the future.

Khator described the opening as a start to the university’s centennial celebrations. Speaking to The Cougar, she said a birthday event was planned for March 2027, a finale for October 2027 and at least a dozen curated events in between. The Cougar did not say where the objects from the opened capsule are now kept or whether visitors can view them. For now, their contents are known through its account of the September unveiling.