# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/81 "2008-11-18T19:15:13Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Would a perfect triangle be more interesting? Would a perfect triangle be more intelligent? > > -FrL- No. But the way it is asymmetric somehow irritates me, like the artist was just sloppy, even though I’m sure the pompous git had some artsy “reason” for it. ---
**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 19, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/82 "2008-11-19T21:04:36Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > No. But the way it is asymmetric somehow irritates me, like the artist was just sloppy, even though I’m sure the pompous git had some artsy “reason” for it. That’s it - it would irritate me slightly less. “Pompous git” sums up my feelings perfectly - “Here we have the slightly irregular leg, showing how mankind is always just a little bit imperfect…” or whatever pompous gitty crap he would have spewed about it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/83 "2008-11-20T00:21:07Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I think St. Louis might have gotten the worst of Serra’s works. The one in St. Louis is, I just learned, called “Twain”. As in Mark Twain? Yipes. It would be interesting to hear what Sam C. might have said about it. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/84 "2008-11-20T00:26:19Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > As in Mark Twain? Yipes. > > It would be interesting to hear what Sam C. might have said about it. Alas, never shall they meet. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/85 "2008-11-20T00:31:52Z")
Along with some pretty cool sculptures, there are some creepy Cthulhu-like ones in [Puerto Vallarta](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1376/855934328_44e4f5d8a2.jpg%3Fv%3D0&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/berlinoa/855934328&usg=__RxH2CW8zPF8QgLmP77TYepGRBeM=&h=500&w=375&sz=123&hl=en&start=43&um=1&tbnid=23DT2XOG2gygMM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsculptures%2BPuerto%2BVallarta%26start%3D42%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN) and [here](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1215/1450622868_d0eb5d9297.jpg%3Fv%3D0&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/1450622868/&usg=__6Gp2LcPYZOt4AUsqvzItDiXgByE=&h=333&w=500&sz=66&hl=en&start=53&um=1&tbnid=a6YSVkum4A_TSM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsculptures%2BPuerto%2BVallarta%26start%3D42%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN). ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/86 "2008-11-20T01:12:42Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Alas, never shall they meet. \ ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/87 "2008-11-20T01:25:15Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I think St. Louis might have gotten the worst of Serra’s works. The one in St. Louis is, I just learned, called “Twain”. But everyone refers to it as “The Serra Sculpture”. It is eight giant, now corroded, slabs of steel arranged in a near-triangle. The slabs are not curved, shaped, or in any way interesting, They’re just big steel panels. Here are two views: [ground level](http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/display/19eb5c35-f09e-4084-931d-ce7fe731f147.jpg); [aerial](http://bp0.blogger.com/_YCGKh3GjtVs/Rzd3NyyYXKI/AAAAAAAABCY/LrkhmO6esNg/s1600-h/4%3D%3D%3D.jpg). It is large, I will give it that. When I worked across the street from it, it basically served as an open-air pissoir for the bums. The best thing I ever saw was one night when some practical jokers temporarily turned the whole thing into giant dominoes. They magnetically stuck markings on each of the panels to make them look like monstrous dominoes, sunk about a third of the way into the ground. Funny thing was, _that_ actually looked pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![MizTina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MizTina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizTina)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789/88 "2008-11-20T04:02:57Z")
Denver has more godawful public art than the Mustang from Hell (which I thought was a April Fool prank when I first heard about it)and the Dancing Aliens…we have our own 1920s Style Ray Gun and more even worser stuff! [http://www.guidespot.com/guides/denvers\_ugliest\_public\_art](http://www.guidespot.com/guides/denvers_ugliest_public_art) And by the way, that is some scam Richard Serra has going on. Does he pull names for his irregular walls out of his ass? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockingly-ugly-public-art/472789.md?page=4)