# Shockingly Ugly Public Art **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789 "2008-11-14T23:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/41 "2008-11-15T16:07:51Z")
Nah, **NoCoolUserName** , I think us Coloradoans have a certain edge when it comes to butt-ugly public art. I give you the statue in downtown Ft. Collins: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/22181091@N03/2221987318/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/22181091@N03/2221987318/) Used to have a nice, western-appropriate statue of a cowboy on a bucking bronc. Then some couple with way more money than tatse decided to donate the above monstrosity to the city. We’re all supposed to like it though, because it was free, ya know! ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/42 "2008-11-15T16:54:57Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > I like the giant fire plug and I’d gladly trade it for UNM’s ugly hunk of concrete, The Center of the Universe. > > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619\_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0) > > It might be a handy place to take shelter during the tornado season. Huh, that looks exactly like the mortar shelters in Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/43 "2008-11-15T17:07:52Z")
I nominate [this hideous thing](http://www.crossroad.to/images/04/mission-trip/tour/sofia-crumbling-monument.jpg) in a central square in downtown Sofia. From the [In Your Pocket guide](http://www.inyourpocket.com/bulgaria/sofia/sightseeing/Ugly_Sofia/venue/31769-Monument_to_the_Bulgarian_State.html): > [@](#): > > Sofia is probably unique in Europe in being the only capital which can boast a decaying pile of junk as one of its major downtown focal points. Unveiled in 1981 to mark the 1300th anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian state, this unimaginably shoddy memorial is an eloquent metaphor for much that has happened in Bulgaria in the intervening 25 years. It was barely a decade old when it started falling to bits, and the question of who should pay for its refurbishment (or demolition) has been the object of inconclusive bickering ever since. There’s a wall around it to stop people from getting too close, where they might get hit with falling concrete. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/44 "2008-11-15T20:35:15Z")
Barely a blip on the ugly radar compared to a few of the pix here, but I nominate this, if only becuase I had to look at it every day for about 4 years. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3134/2677073094_a947f5f336_b.jpg "Nollen Plaza Umbrella") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/aplseed/2677073094/in/set-72157594448639151/) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/45 "2008-11-15T20:59:30Z")
There are a few pieces around Calgary that, while not as ugly as some of the Towers of Turds linked here, are still eyesores. I’ll see if I can get some pictures of them. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/46 "2008-11-15T21:13:48Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, everybody here in town hates [the world’s largest fire hydrant.](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4453) I don’t despise it as much as many do, but I don’t particularly care for it. Especially since the city probably paid a few million of my tax dollars for it. The really disturbing thing is that there’s apparently a debate with a couple other cities over who really has the largest fire hydrant. This seems as good a place as any to share my personal theory regarding public art sculpture: almost all of it is “Purloined Letter”-style camouflage for a secret network of subliminal broadcast antennas. What are they broadcasting? _Financial propaganda._ Virtually all these works have been sponsored in part by banks, or are within line-of-sight to a bank, or both. Visit the financial district of the nearest city and see how the concentration of huge abstract public sculpture suddenly spikes. You think bankers love huge abstract sculpture? _This is no coincidence._ ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/47 "2008-11-15T21:36:37Z")
And the most hideous of all abstract sculptures? _Sub-prime mortgages!_ ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/48 "2008-11-15T22:24:20Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > I like the giant fire plug and I’d gladly trade it for UNM’s ugly hunk of concrete, The Center of the Universe. > > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619\_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0) > > It might be a handy place to take shelter during the tornado season. I can’t say much for the sculpture itself, but that photo is fantastic. It makes it look like a portal leading away from doom (the vast, forboding cloud-filled sky) into a tranquil paradise. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/49 "2008-11-15T22:39:50Z")
[Field of giant corn in Dublin, OH.](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9527) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/50 "2008-11-16T01:32:54Z")
[http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=165](http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=165) At the bottom of these Detroit statues si the Joe Louis Fist. It is special. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/51 "2008-11-16T01:53:51Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > [Field of giant corn in Dublin, OH.](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9527) Damn it, I was down there and never saw that. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/52 "2008-11-16T06:53:21Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > I like the giant fire plug and I’d gladly trade it for UNM’s ugly hunk of concrete, The Center of the Universe. > > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619\_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/108/306014619_b6e3fe3953.jpg?v=0) > > It might be a handy place to take shelter during the tornado season. Looks like the perfect place to score an eightball and a sack of weed… The giant corn scares the crap out of me–it’s like ghost dildoes in the field or something. If you build it, they will come? I like the giant fist, though, it makes me think dirty things. Hmmm, I think I might need to get laid or something… ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/53 "2008-11-16T09:34:04Z")
> [@spoike](#): > > I’m sorry I can’t give you more of the story, but I’ve never been to Norway, and I don’t speak Norwegian. If someone does, this [website](http://verhalen.reisblog.com/archives/5-Vigeland-Park-Oslo-Noorwegen.html) might have more information. The link is actually in Dutch, otherwise I might have been able to help 🙂 [This is a fairly good English description,](http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/Vigeland/) with photos. It has more photos and links to other pages as well. The thing to remember is that the park is intended as a single installation. Not that all of the individual statues “make sense” in that context, whatever that phrase means, but they are not nearly as shocking when viewed together as a few of them are when seen individually. Well worth visiting if you’re ever in Oslo. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/54 "2008-11-16T10:06:44Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > [Field of giant corn in Dublin, OH.](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9527) I LOVE that! By far my favorite on this thread so far, although I don’t find many of them too awful, and like most. I agree about the exorbitant cost problem, though–most cities shouldn’t be spending massive amounts of money on public art–it’s too subjective. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/55 "2008-11-16T10:44:27Z")
I acutally think most of this stuff is okay, kind of "why?"ish, but okay. However, and I realize I am about to make several enemies and have my inbox flooded with death threats, but I have to say I utterly and completely DESPISE Jean Claude and Christo. Great, you covered something large and unwieldy in Saran Wrap… good for you? The only one I can tolerate in the [umbrellas](http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/um.shtml) one. I don’t know if it necessarily counts as public art (they fund the projects completely independently), but it’s out there for everyone to see so it’s public enough. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/56 "2008-11-17T00:43:04Z")
I give you Toronto’s own Airman Memorial, also known locally as “Gumby Goes to Heaven”: > **['Gumby Goes to Heaven' RCAF monument](https://flickr.com/photos/loneprimate/83378747/in/set-1722356/)** > > This statue is offically called Per Ardua Ad Astra, which is the motto of the Royal Canadian Air Force... but in common Torontonian parlance, it's better known as "Gumby Goes to Heaven". Good Lord... what were they thinking? :) This is on... Just hideous, and I go past it all the time. Somehow, the fact that it is supposed to be a solemn memorial to WW2 servicemen adds insult to injury. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/57 "2008-11-17T01:42:07Z")
This hideous proposal by Jaume Plensa didn’t come to pass, even with a $2.5 million gift from a private donor to support it: [http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS\_0\_2\_99538\_0\_0\_18/FeatDtl-PubAff-Jaume\_Plensa\_Unveils\_Pla-20060330-142148.html](http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_99538_0_0_18/FeatDtl-PubAff-Jaume_Plensa_Unveils_Pla-20060330-142148.html) The pictures don’t do its impracticality full justice, as it involved fountains in a city with frequent shortage-driven water restrictions and had a bunch of hanging lights that would need to be maintained from burning out and getting covered with birdshit. This proposal for Durham is not thrilling me, either, although at least it doesn’t seem like such a money pit [http://www.newsobserver.com/print/thursday/city\_state/story/1265376.html](http://www.newsobserver.com/print/thursday/city_state/story/1265376.html) Of the existing ugly public art around here, the Light+Time tower usually takes the medal - [File:Light-Plus-Time-Tower-Raleigh-NC-20081012.jpeg - Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Light-Plus-Time-Tower-Raleigh-NC-20081012.jpeg) No, it is not involved in cell phone or other transmission. Its purpose is decorative. ---
**Author:** ![Rosie\_is\_Tired](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Rosie\_is\_Tired](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosie_is_Tired)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/58 "2008-11-17T02:33:23Z")
Carnegie Mellon University has this lovely thing. They didn’t even have the decency to try and hide it; it is very clear from the bus that goes past CMU on the way to Squirrel Hill. [http://lh5.ggpht.com/\_RmA2hopg-mA/SAq0Cf2REqI/AAAAAAAAC\_E/tyn11ELX6hc/IMG\_0565.jpg](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RmA2hopg-mA/SAq0Cf2REqI/AAAAAAAAC_E/tyn11ELX6hc/IMG_0565.jpg) (couldn’t find a much better pic) ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/59 "2008-11-17T11:37:27Z")
The statue of [Peter the Great](http://public.fotki.com/LadySmiles/russia-1/moscow/peter_the_great_statue/) in Moscow is not only ugly; it’s absolutely huge. (94 meters tall). I must admit that I kind of like it for being so horrible. Apparently it was first concieved as a statue of Cristopher Columbus and offered to the city of New York. When they rejected the “gift”, it was renamed as Peter the Great and sold to Moscow (where the artist’s friend was mayor at the time). And thank God the city of Copenhagen rejected [this 72.5 meter eyesore](http://www.cowi.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/cowi/da/menu/07.%20Nyheder/1.%20Nyhedsarkiv/Nyheder/Bygninger/Billeder%202008/Skulptur_B5.jpg). “Gateway to Copenhagen” my a\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/60 "2008-11-17T13:30:46Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Is there something wrong with me that I find most of this stuff to be really cool? I like big weird art, especially things that are blown up really huge. I loved the guy being attacked by babies, that’s so creepy/funny! Heck, I even like the Indo Arch in Sacramento, and most people want the thing hauled off for scrap… > > The Rhizome one just sucks, though. The Tower o’Turds and the Panamanian fountain are pretty horrible also–but most of the rest of this stuff is fairly awesome… This, except that your link doesn’t work and I have no idea what the Indo Arch is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789.md?page=4)