There are a lot of incentives for public buildings to have some sort of art on display. Often, this takes the form of a “1% for art” mandate, where 1% of the cost of new construction must go to public art. Predictably, this leads to artwork being chosen strictly by its price tag, which leads to some really bad public art.
But sometimes you get something good. This thread is for those.
For starters, here’s CityDogs, the Cleveland animal control kennel:
Point of clarification: is “public” “government-owned or operated”, or is public “open to serve the public, even if not government”?
Let’s go with “put up to be visible from a public space”, regardless of the ownership. And if you’re not sure, err on the side of showing off the nifty artwork.
The Bean, in Chicago. I think it’s way cool.
I like it better than the Picasso downtown. Which is not bad, either.
If you like that, you might enjoy Toronto’s Berczy Park Dog Fountain.
Huh, I hadn’t realized that Picasso did any sculpture.
And @hogarth , that’s neat too, but I’m slightly disappointed that the water is coming out of their mouths.
It’s called “The Awakening.”
Seeing as how the poor guy’s been in there 45+ years, it doesn’t seem he’ll be getting out anytime soon.
‘Another Place’ by Antony Gormley is truly otherworldly IMO.
I am fond of this 16-foot tall pigeon that I ran into on the Manhattan High Line recently:
I would not stand under the back end of that if I were you.
On the other hand…
Interesting… How are the statues mounted? If they were just standing there, they’d fall over quickly… Deep iron stakes embedded in the sand?
And @Just_Asking_Questions , I can never see the Bean without thinking of the cache of weapons hidden in it in case of supernatural invasion…
Portland has a piece downtown that I liked…
it became rather famous:
Claes Oldenberg’s work I love.
This one’s in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
The big brother of all public art.
They’re set on plinths attached to deep steel piles, but the moving sands sometimes partly bury them, which adds to the effect I think.
I guess the metal sculptures in Borrego Springs might qualify.
The small town of Inman, Kansas, recently commissioned a local artist to paint a mural on the side of the grain elevator. The mural is 108 feet tall.
ETA: click on the image to get the full effect. Not sure why it’s compressed.
I’m fond of the big blue bear that is peering into the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
I hope they locked up all the food because that glass wall ain’t gonna stop him.
unfortunately, we’re also stuck with ugly Serra “sculpture” (sic) across from City Hall
