Ship of Fools: Public Art

Thread: Public Art Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :

Sometimes I love my country. We have some fab public art (as well as some absolute horrors.)

I love the Angel of the North, I like a lot of Gormley's work to be honest.

I also liked Alison Lapper Pregnant by Mark Quinn that was on the 4th plinth in 2007, (which was reproduced in the paralympics opening ceremony).

What are your most and least favourite pieces of public art, and what appeals/disgusts about them ?

(We should probably keep to three links or less in posts on this thread.)

[ 01. September 2012, 19:37: Message edited by: Doublethink ]

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

This thing sits near the road that leads to out airport. It caused quite a fuss when it was installed. Not only does it appear demonic, it actually killed the artist that made it- no kidding, it crushed him while he was completing it. There are a lot of people who hate it, which was the first thing that made me decide that it was nice. The Queen of Bashan and I are both locals, and we tend to be fairly unapologetic about thinking that we live in the best place in the world, so we like to think that its in-your-face badassness is appropriate as a symbol of the city.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

One of my favourites is the Birmingham Bull, in the middle of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. It's chunky, dynamic, and it has an almost universal appeal. In the picture it's on its own, but in reality it rarely gets a moment to itself. It just seems to invite people to touch it, climb it, play with it, and be photographed in a variety of poses with it.

Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :

That is indeed fabulous, I do like things to be unapologetic. Like this in Basingstoke - I mainly like because the council commissioned and paid for it without apparently realizing they had ordered the largest publicly displayed phallus in Britain.

I love the mindset that goes "oh, its a 7 ton cock, that's not what we were expecting to put in the market place - oh well, we've paid for it now ..."

It is in fact called "The Church Stone" and has the virgin and child carved into the side, but is known locally as the Wote Street Willy.

[Cross-posted in reply to Og.]

[ 01. September 2012, 20:38: Message edited by: Doublethink ]

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

So, in a town positively chock-full of public art, the Dante sculpture in Meridian Hill Park may be may favorite—not that Meridian Hill isn't itself a pretty breathtaking piece of public art itself, but Dante is set so nicely (and I'm a bit too much of a fanboy) that even Joan of Arc leading the charge to the White House can't win. However, a very close second (also in a nook of great art) would be the Adams Memorial, AKA "Grief," in Rock Creek Cemetery.

However, for pure unstuffiness, the Einstein Memorial wins. It's rare to see a figure portrayed not as some monumental being, but in a rather frumpy, friendly, and lifelike state. Plus, the map of the sky at his feet and the fact the ampitheatre he's sitting in causes your voice to be amplified and reverberated back at you is pretty cool as well.

Posted by Ferdzy (# 8702) on :

One of many reasons I am very happy to no longer live in Toronto:

Gumby Goes to Heaven.

http://www.tobuilt.ca/php/tobuildings_more.php?search_fd3=9800

Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:
This thing sits near the road that leads to out airport. It caused quite a fuss when it was installed. Not only does it appear demonic, it actually killed the artist that made it- no kidding, it crushed him while he was completing it. There are a lot of people who hate it, which was the first thing that made me decide that it was nice. The Queen of Bashan and I are both locals, and we tend to be fairly unapologetic about thinking that we live in the best place in the world, so we like to think that its in-your-face badassness is appropriate as a symbol of the city.

Wow. Talk about "learning from Las Vegas".

But I can understand why you and Her Highness are championing the thing. It would actually fit in quite well where I come from.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

Apparently this is the Sun Gate. We call it the stone donut.

There's another sculpture that is a car disassembled and put back together in a floating helix kind of thing.

Some people do have vivid imaginations, don't they?

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

This is my favorite public art from Og, King of Bashan's home city.

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

oooh - I like that big bearikins ...

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

On the other hand we have this

Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :

From my home town, the Rundle Mall pigs, for similar reasons to the bull in Birmingham. They are kinda cute, and welcome interaction. They generated a fair bit of controversy when first installed but are now I think firmly part of the street scape and much loved.

In London, the fat lady behind Liverpool St Station. It's a giant fat lady! What's not to love?

For one that I don't like: The Fones behind the library in the University of Adelaide. They look like a pair of demented alien plants, or a kid's first pottery project from summer camp, or something. There were originally three fones, but one eventually got destroyed by generations of drunken students climbing on it, so one down, two to go.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

We have the Singing Ringing Tree just up the road from here.

I love it!

[Big Grin]

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ecumaniac:
From my home town, the Rundle Mall pigs,

I've always liked them, but am less fussed by the testicles. Chicago has bigger balls

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Zappa:
oooh - I like that big bearikins ...

I remember from my travels in Australia so many over-size critters and things -- the Big Prawn, the Big Merino, the Big Trout etc. Here are some that I saw and many others.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

I rather like the troll in Seattle, Washington, US.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

I liked this fellow in Bratislava.

Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :

Zizkov Tower in Prague, covered in climbing 6ft babies. As you do [Ultra confused]

Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

There are too many to choose from here, but a few of my favourites are: the bull from the Tain bo Cuailgne, the starfish and Fionn with his two mutts (a very difficult sculpture to photograph because its in a strange spot).

I like Rachael Joynt's work mostly, mainly because its so beautiful in how it uses texture and the natural colours of the materials she uses.

Posted by Pia (# 17277) on :

Loving lots of the stuff on here. Of those I've seen in real life, favourites are the Angel of the North and the Chicago 'bean'.

Ariston: it's a bit of a tangent as it's in a museum rather than 'public' but your Dante sculpture reminded me of this rather wonderful Dante chess set, which I think is not far from DC (here) .

This isn't 'art' as such, but it's an art deco marvel nonetheless.

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

We are Alaskans. We are a practical people. we embrace the functional and think the beautiful is for those other, more civilized, fancypants people. We build hotels out of conex trailers and are proud.

we have mountains, aurora, and totem poles, what more do you want?

Anchorage, our biggest city, is in one of the most lovely places on earth. yet somehow it manages to be pretty damned ugly. Real architecture is for Outside.

still - it is the home of The Last Blue Whale - built the year I was born. I love this thing. it's big and beautiful. and if you look close, the whale is taking out a boatful of hunters on the surface with his tail, here. so it's not only beautiful and majestic, it's also kind of sick. so, a perfect reflection of the Alaskan humor style!

Despite my snark above, we actually have a lot of artwork. a personal favorite is the sun arch in fairbanks. similarly - this is outside the public library in Anchorage. it's boring during the day, but a stunner at night.

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pia:
Ariston: it's a bit of a tangent as it's in a museum rather than 'public' but your Dante sculpture reminded me of this rather wonderful Dante chess set, which I think is not far from DC (here).

Okay, I have to see that now. Bethesda may as well be in DC, so I have even less of an excuse for not having seen it.

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :

Much of the work of Maya Lin , including the Vietname Memorial is inspiring. I haven't seen many of her intallations, but I'm looking forward to seeing her new Lewis & Clark trail installations.

In Seattle there's the Fremont Troll and some magical dance steps on the sidewalks of Broadway in Capital Hill. They're unimposing, but as people pass they often get drawn in to doing the dance step.

Posted by MrsDoyle (# 13579) on :

Unashamedly biased but I like the sculpture donated for our community garden, rapidly being nick-named "the candle" (the artist named it"spear")

http://www.stagneslongsight.org/images/sculpture_5_.JPG

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

My thanks to flickr and AndrewHA, for this photograph of the bronze pig outside Newport Market Hall.

It's just over the road from the Steel Wave (flickr again, thanks to guvnor2009).

Our best examples of civic art are the murals hidden away in the Anglo-Stalinist Civic Centre. They really are worth looking out for.

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

I am very fond of the world's largest giant boar.

True story: the sculptor started making it for fun in his garage, then realised he might have gone a teensy little bit overboard on the proportions. It's now to be found on the side of the road close to a service station in the Ardennes, not far from the Belgian border.

Woinic the boar

Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on :

I like this chap, immortalised in Thetford because that was where they filmed the outside scenes that were meant to be in the town he so valiantly defended during WW2. You stupid boy!

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

For me, the Angel of the North marks a boundary between "home" and "not-home". But I'd also love to see the Aldeburgh Scallop, by Maggi Hambling. I've only ever seen photos, and I think it's beautiful.

If public art can mean "art 'owned' by the public" as well as "art in public", then the Your Paintings website might be worth a browse, especially to UK Shipmates, who "own" these paintings.

Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :

One of my local favourites as well as this Steel worker

ACtually I am pretty sure that the site it is on is not uptodate as I know this one is missing and there have been a whole spate of black and white murals recently.

Jengie

Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :

Did some googling, I think the work I am talking of may be by this artist if so it is later than that page and is now using blank walls in back streets in the city centre.

Jengie

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

This one is fun.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

"Her Secret is Patience" is supposed to represent a saguaro blossom.
[Confused]

Kind people describe it as a jellyfish; less kind people describe it as a vagina. Just about everyone describes it as a colossal waste of money.

Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :

Here's something a little more...em....tongue in cheek (I think!)
ganesha

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

We have an unusual (I think) sculpture downtown which is best viewed at night. Like comet's, this one is OK by day, but very interesting when it's dark.

Caloosahatchee Manuscripts

Here is some info if you want to find out what it's all about.

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

There are already a few votes for Chicago's bean (official name "Cloud Gate"). What I love about this piece is not just how it reflects the city in all its moods but how people play with it. You see every kind of person imaginable trying different poses in front of it and shooting silly pictures. It brings out such childishness and spontaneity. Sometimes you'll see an entire wedding party, or a bunch of prom-goers in their finery, posing with it as backdrop. It's genius and I hope it lasts for generations.

Also worthy of mention is the Crown Fountain at the other end of Millenium Park -- two, facing, 50-foot-high glass block towers through which (or on which, I'm not sure) a series of photos of real people are projected. Every few minutes one of them spouts water at you, as seen here, so there are always a bunch of soaked little kids playing around it.

On a more traditional and sentimental note, there are the two majestic Art Institute Lions. At Christmastime they look quite handsome with greenery and red bows around their necks. They've also been known to wear Bears and White Sox helmets.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

As soon as I read the thread title, my first thought was the Angel of the North - I think it's wonderful.

We went past Gateshead twice when we were over on holiday last month; unfortunately the first time it was dark and the second time we were on the wrong road ... [Frown]

I quite like the look of the Arcelor-Mittal Orbit, although as D. pointed out, it really ought to be a helter-skelter ... [Big Grin]

PS Love the bear and the Mall Pigs. [Smile]

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

This is a friendly sculpture of some of our snowbirds from years past: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. It's a favorite place to sit and think and enjoy the oak trees and their cooling shade!

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

Sometimes public art is too realistic!
[Smile]

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

Also, can't believe I forgot this statue of a couple UMD alumni, seeing as it's only a few miles away from me and all . . .

[ 04. September 2012, 02:54: Message edited by: Ariston ]

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
Sometimes public art is too realistic!

I'm surprised the dog couldn't tell by smell that the man wasn't real.

Moo

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
This is my favorite public art from Og, King of Bashan's home city.

We seem to be obsessed with large blue animals. That one is more universally appreciated than the horse (after I posted, I remembered that detractors had nicknamed the horse "Blucifer.") I felt a little twinge of civic pride when the bear was featured in a "Zippy the Pinhead" strip.

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

Love the whimsey of that big bear peeking in the office window!

Here is a piece of art that was donated to my community. It's called "Forest Canopy" and if you look closely there are little cutout leafy things in it. It isn't terribly large -- I left the jogger in the photo to give you some idea of the size. I admit the sculpture has grown on me a bit, but I still refer to it as "Wilmette's Stargate."

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
Also, can't believe I forgot this statue of a couple UMD alumni, seeing as it's only a few miles away from me and all . . .

I was reading this thread in the library as I only have dial-up at home and the pics took ages to load. When I tried this one I got a message about needing help from a librarian to access it, so I thought it might be a bit marginal (although the penis statue loaded without difficulty) so I moved on quickly [Hot and Hormonal]

, When I checked it on my home computer I realised how wrong I was.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

Our current Caption Competition features a pretty impressive piece of public art.

(When this thread becomes archived I shudder to think what that link may open in the future!)

Posted by Earwig (# 12057) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
Sometimes public art is too realistic!

Aw! It's like a human, but something's wrong with it... too much for the canine mind!

I loved the blue bear and the babies crawling up the building, they're cool.

My fave public art at the moment is "Another Place" by Anthony Gormley - dozens of life size figures cast in bronze looking out to sea near Liverpool.

I saw them at low tide this summer and they were magical - the ones that are under water have been colonised by little sea creatures and the features of the faces and hands have been lost uder them. Beautiful and enigmatic.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

There is a lovely sculpture just north of Santa Barbara in southern California at the State Beach: it plays music whenever there is the slightest breeze!

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