# Vienna, Austria unveils a 2 million Euro statue that looks like a compilation of elementary-school art projects **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333 "2023-10-30T22:48:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/21 "2023-10-31T04:40:53Z")
Yeah, the Vaillancourt fountain is intriguing and I’d like to see it in person. Kind of a brutalist “industrial site” vibe but with artfully crafted cascades and walkways. Like a more approved user-friendly version of the sorts of big dangerous built environments that stupid teenagers break into for stupid reasons, but remember the mesmerizing menacing massiveness of in the back of their minds all the rest of their lives. I tend to feel that when it comes to public art, “ugly” has to mean something more than just “not pretty” or “not smooth or polished” or even “not beautiful”. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/22 "2023-10-31T05:11:32Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Pikers. You want an ugly fountain? Here’s an ugly fountain. I came here to say the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/23 "2023-10-31T05:19:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > “Human language has no words to describe how hideously ugly this is,” Sure it does: “That fountain is as ugly as the Cybertruck”. 😁 I can see how the sculptor was being playfully creative, but I’m sorry, there’s just nothing remotely aesthetic about the result. The measure of a work of art is the final product, not how much fun the artist had creating it. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/24 "2023-10-31T07:10:13Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > roadside places …that sell concrete statuary of all sorts of things, like animals (Labrador retrievers, monkeys, goats, birds, raccoons etc.), Catholic saints, Buddha figures, mermaids, cute widdle concrete children holding concrete baskets, giant spheres, artichokes etc. > > The Vienna project … effect is similar. But you can buy an entire roadside place full of animals,Buddhas, saints, …etc for a whole lot less then 2 million Euro. And let’s even add in a free copy of Belgium’s famous statue of [a boy peeing.](https://www.google.com/search?q=manniken+pis&rlz=1C1EJFC_enIL875IL875&oq=manniken+pis&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIPCAEQLhgKGK8BGMcBGIAEMg8IAhAuGAoYrwEYxwEYgAQyCQgDEAAYChiABDIJCAQQABgKGIAEMgkIBRAAGAoYgAQyCQgGEAAYChiABDIJCAcQABgKGIAEMgkICBAAGAoYgATSAQk0NTI2ajBqMTWoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#cobssid=s&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D,ik:CAoSLEFGMVFpcFBxUHRzZFBLZl8wZ0htMnVMcFdPS2tpSlB3c3gwYmxwczdwN3M4) ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/25 "2023-10-31T07:41:33Z")
Frankly I don’t consider it ugly in its present state, rather thought provoking. Article (German language) with video > **[Jubiläumsbrunnen: 150 Jahre Wiener Wasser - News - W24](https://www.w24.at/News/2023/10/Jubilaeumsbrunnen-150-Jahre-Wiener-Wasser)** > > Bürgermeister Ludwig sieht im von Künstlerkollektiv Gelatin entworfenen Werk einen "Brunnen für ein Miteinander". What I am concerned about is whether they really considered - the consequences (on children and fountain) of children climbing on the figures (as they will do). Part of the statuary does not look that robust. - how the fountain will look once it has weathered and leaves have accumulated and moss has grown in some places. It does not like amenable to easy maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/26 "2023-10-31T08:57:58Z")
I mean, this is Vienna. The place probably has more statues per square mile than any city in the world - you can’t throw a strudel without hitting a statue of a Greek god, Empress Maria Theresa or a Durer rabbit. One ugly statue out of several thousand passable to beautiful ones is really no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Gryphea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@Gryphea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gryphea)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/27 "2023-10-31T09:09:26Z")
It is ugly as hell, but telling an Austrian artist “sorry, you’re not talented enough” doesn’t produce the best outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/28 "2023-10-31T09:20:01Z")
Vienna has some of the most beautiful art on earth, and with so much of the sublime, it almost requires the grotesque for balance. For example, just Google Egon Schiele if you don’t already recognize his name. Or Google Rudolf Schwarzkogler (on second thought, no, please don’t Google Rudolf Schwarzkogler). Italy had a similar gruesome counterpoint in the 1960s: **Arto Povera** , a sort of post-traumatic brain injury minimalism. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/29 "2023-10-31T09:31:36Z")
> [@SailorHG](#): > > I bet it doesn’t last a month before someone vandalises it. How will you be able to tell? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/30 "2023-10-31T10:06:32Z")
The simple fact that this thread exists proves the design is at least interesting. (a huge step beyond most “art”) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/31 "2023-10-31T10:10:43Z")
If the sole purpose of art is to draw attention to itself, then I suppose you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/32 "2023-10-31T10:12:05Z")
I think it is cool, I would like to paint it in colours. Many, discordant, bright colours: pink and glow-green and violet and orange and the like. There are many statues with which I would like to do this, the idea occurred to me first with King Leopold the Second’s statue by the Royal Palace, in Brussels: [![](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4062/4650719656_9ebaefdf3b_b.jpg) ](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4062/4650719656_9ebaefdf3b_b.jpg) I would love to paint the horse white with black dots, like Pippi Langstrumpf’s, his face green, his hair pink, his uniform orange and golden, his boots a bright prussian blue and his hands a deep bloody red. The fountain in Vienna would be a much more joyous performance. Perhaps I should send an official application to see how they react. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/33 "2023-10-31T10:17:40Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I would love to paint the horse white with black dots, like Pippi Langstrumpf’s, his face green, his hair pink, his uniform orange and golden, his boots a bright prussian blue and his hands a deep bloody red. I would also chop off his hands. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/34 "2023-10-31T10:23:24Z")
I understand. But then it would not show how bloody they are. I am torn between both options. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/35 "2023-10-31T11:00:44Z")
My vote for a piece of disliked “art” is the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal addition to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. “Hey, let’s take a stuffy old building and make it exciting by adding a bunch of asymmetrical crap to it that results in weird, crooked rooms!” > **[Revisiting Canada's Most Hated Building](https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/rom-crystal-10-years-later/)** > > A decade after the ROM Crystal opened to a chorus of 'boos,' have feelings in Toronto softened toward's Canada's "ugliest" building? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/36 "2023-10-31T11:23:29Z")
I like the fountain! It’s very playful and I bet children would enjoy it and that makes it even more appealing. I love the sound of children laughing. Ya bunch of old fogies! (except for a couple of you.) 😆 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/37 "2023-10-31T11:35:52Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > The simple fact that this thread exists proves the design is at least interesting. (a huge step beyond most “art”) No, this thread exists because someone spent 2 million Euros of taxpayer money on this abomination. That’s “interesting” in a bizarre sort of way, but it doesn’t equate to merit. Art can be abstract and even whimsical and still be good and even great art. But it does have to have some positive appeal to basic aesthetics, especially if it’s on prominent public display. This, in my opinion, does not. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/38 "2023-10-31T11:50:45Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > You want an ugly fountain? Here’s an ugly fountain. > > [[Vaillancourt-fountain-san-francisco]](http://joetacoma.blogspot.com/2012/11/vaillancourt-fountain-san-francisco.html) > > The cost, in inflation-adjusted dollars, was $2,355,916. So almost the same. I think we got a lot more ugly for our dollars than they did for their euros. Ironically, this is the post that has soured me on the Austrian fountain. Because that looks _great_, I love how you can walk through it and feel like you’re in a different world. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/39 "2023-10-31T12:52:22Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Ironically, this is the post that has soured me on the Austrian fountain. > > Because that looks _great_, I love how you can walk through it and feel like you’re in a different world. I agree. The San Francisco fountain has a cohesiveness and a grandeur that the other one completely lacks. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333/40 "2023-10-31T13:00:46Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Pikers. You want an ugly fountain? Here’s an ugly fountain. I don’t know. They show people inside it – and it looks like it’s kind of neat from the inside. And I think it’s meant to look like a wreck from the outside – they were making a point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vienna-austria-unveils-a-2-million-euro-statue-that-looks-like-a-compilation-of-elementary-school-art-projects/992333.md?page=3)