Friday, March 19, 2010

Every landmark, a trademark

Rob Long, Wall Street Journal:

[T]hat's the problem with public art: It's almost always a nuisance. Your idea of a challenging and provocative sculpture is my idea of a rusty slab of metal. You want to eat lunch on a sunny day on a plaza that I want to fill with tiny, dwarf-like replicas of Marshal Tito. The problem with public space is that it's public, and if there's one thing the public won't easily accept, it's when someone -- usually the government, or some nonprofit -- sticks some art somewhere irritating, i.e., somewhere not in a museum.

Oh, yes: when it comes to sticking something irritating in my public space, the first culprit that comes to my mind is the power-hungry art curator.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh GOD

mitch said...

Replace all the public space with parking decks. That'll solve the problem of public space.

almostinfamous said...

rob long: now added to the long list of individuals i wouldn't mind spend poking in the ribs with a sharp stick for eternity.