How many “Let artists paint a weird object that mildly relates to the city and sell it at auction” pieces out there?
I know of at least three:
The Mooses in Toronto. I still saw a few while I was there last weekend.
The Angels in Los Angeles, kind of a dud if you ask me.
Rochester NY, has horses.
Do you Dopers know of any others? Which are the best? The Worst?
Cows: Chicago and Kansas City
Fish: Erie, PA
Downtown San Jose is full of painted sharks.
It’s pigs in Iowa.
In related news, a big attraction at the Iowa State Fair (home of the Deep-Fried Snickers Bar-on-a-Stick, IIRC) is the life-sized cow sculpture made of butter.
All of Iowa, or just a city or two?
You got me. They were all over the city of Des Moines when I moved here and prominently featured at the State Fair last year. They all seem to have gone away now.
From what I can gather, Chicago started the whole thing with Cows on Parade in 1999, and other cities followed suit. Here’s a USA Today story about this phenomenon from last summer:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/leisure/2000/ltl333.htm
Buffalos - Buffalo NY
Pigs - Seattle, Wa
Thanks for the link Philistine.
Chicago’s tourism was bumped up $200 million by these dumb statues?
“Martha! They have painted cows in Chicago! We’ve got to get there!”
I don’t think so.
Well, somebody thinks it’s a good idea. Chicago is back this year with chairs.
it was fun to see the funky pigs in seattle when i was there in may. there was a disco ball pig, a circus…uh pigephant, a luau hawaiian mama pig with fruit hat and yellow bathing suit, and many more…
this year charlotte, nc had rocking chairs. not quite as amusing although the one covered in wig-hair that slightly resembled cousin itt was interesting.
Here in RI we had (probably still do, though I haven’t seen them recently) a bunch of different themed Mr. Potato Heads.
The reasoning is that Hasbro, the maker of Mr. Potato Head, is headquartered in RI. We even sent one to our “sister city” in England. They were not amused.
There is one in front of the convention center that is perfectly decked out like a carousel horse.
It is titled, “The Sharks Are Circling”. What a hoot!
Orlando - lizards until December 2001: sightings and locations.
You can “bid” farewell to the at the public auction January 31, 2002.
Boston did Cavalcade of Cod about a year ago. And I thought the one in Florida with the lizards was called Art Gecko.
Saint Paul has a boatload of Snoopy statues they made up for the Charles Schultz memoriam, then sold at auction. Most of them were specific to the businesses they were placed in front of (football snoopy in front of the metrodome, greasy-food-eating Snoopy in front of the state fairgrounds); most of those specific ones were bought up by the businesses they were in front of and are still on display. Also, we now have a boatload of Charlie Brown statues which will likewise follow the same fate.
Can’t wait until we get to the boatload of Schroeder statues. I want one with him playing a piano.
Lake Charles, Louisiana is using alligators.
Does anyone know the connection between pigs and Seattle, as an earlier poster mentioned?
St. Louis has The People Project. Some of them are pretty cool (I especially like the one at COCA. Don’t know why, though.) but most are pretty uninspired.
Fish in New Orleans.
In front of Pike’s Place Market in Seattle (a famous waterfront area farmer’s market/ funky shopping area) there has been a huge brass pig (oddly enough right in front of one of the butchers 
). It’s kind of a mascot.