Travelling Light (AKA a blue circle)

[Rathji]

ok, so looking at it (and totally dismissing costs for now) I think it would be kind of interesting to have these kinds of loops of various sizes all down the section of road in question. I wonder how much it would cost, both in design and construction costs, and paying for the IP.

Just one loop seems strange to me.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

What I find most irritating about this art is that the city paid a German designer for it! If they have to spend the 1% they should at least keep the money in the local economy.

I don't necessarily agree with this.

This specific piece of art is a pile of crap, IMO, but I welcome the idea of having international art in our city. Just because it's local doesn't make it better.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Bane

I'm looking forward to when U of C engineering students suspend a car from it.

This has been addressed by the ring via twitter.

Travelling Light ‏@GiantBlueRing15h
Attn all @UCalgary engineering students, I've heard some talk, and NO, you can't hang a small car from me, it won't work, trust me, move on

[CaptainCrunch]

It would be worth it for them to try. If you hang a car from something and it survives it was meant to be, if it collapses then its crap.

[Brannigans Law]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I hope someone flies a helicopter through it.

Someones playing GTA V too much.

[CaptainCrunch]

If I'm a engineering student, I'm not thinking so much about how to hang a car from it, but how to cut the street lights off, and getting it out of its base to see how far it will roll.

[Regular_John]

This piece specifically is a perfectly unremarkable piece of art in an unremarkable place. But it's far from the worse piece of public art that we own, I personally can't stand the "skywalk" piece above Macleod Trail at the Canyon Meadows station.



It's just an ugly photo that's been stretched/distorted... yet it's part of our public art collection.

However we also have some stuff which I think is great:

Jumping Trout along Glenmore:


Transit Story at the 7th Ave platform:


If we're spending 1% of our infrastructure budget on stuff like this, and one out of 40+ pieces is unremarkable then I think we're doing pretty good. Sure it's easy to nitpick a single piece and say "that's not worth nearly 1/2 million dollars!" but the collection overall seems to be money well spent. I have no problem with my taxes going towards this.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

This piece specifically is a perfectly unremarkable piece of art in an unremarkable place. But it's far from the worse piece of public art that we own, I personally can't stand the "skywalk" piece above Macleod Trail at the Canyon Meadows station.



It's just an ugly photo that's been stretched/distorted... yet it's part of our public art collection.

However we also have some stuff which I think is great:

Jumping Trout along Glenmore:


Transit Story at the 7th Ave platform:


If we're spending 1% of our infrastructure budget on stuff like this, and one out of 40+ pieces is unremarkable then I think we're doing pretty good. Sure it's easy to nitpick a single piece and say "that's not worth nearly 1/2 million dollars!" but the collection overall seems to be money well spent. I have no problem with my taxes going towards this.

I agree with everything in this post.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Muta

I don't necessarily agree with this.

This specific piece of art is a pile of crap, IMO, but I welcome the idea of having international art in our city. Just because it's local doesn't make it better.

If we're going to spend money on art that you'd describe as "a pile of crap" I'd rather the downstream latte-money stay in our hipster neighbourhoods.

[Minnie]

To quote Mrs Brown, it's fecking ugly.

Suppose it could be used to entice more movie makers here. Sandra Bullock could jump that bus through it. The Dukes could take the General Lee for a run through it as well. Perhaps the Knievels might be invited or those motorcycle cage riders could go whirling about it - the city could charge money to view and put it toward flood relief and flood mitigation...

[CaptainCrunch]

They should have put an infinity mirror in it

[V]

How tall is that ring? It looks like they're going to need a crane to maintain those lights.

I actually don't think the ring would be that bad on its own, but the lights make it look absolutely ridiculous.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by V

How tall is that ring? It looks like they're going to need a crane to maintain those lights.

I actually don't think the ring would be that bad on its own, but the lights make it look absolutely ridiculous.

17 meters

[CaptainCrunch]

The ring is stupid on its own, its lazy art, and even the selling point that its a view through a window or portal into the city is utterly stupid because of the placement of the thing.

If your going to buy art buy art, but it your spending half a million bucks on lazy art just so you can pretend to be cultured then its a waist of money.

I can't even say that this is equivalent to putting a Mona Lisa on the wall of a bathroom stall, because its the opposite, its a really ridiculous thing put up just so that they can say they put something up.

I would hope that whoever was on the committee who picked this was blasted for their idiotic choice of art and location and shown the door.

The oldest concept of art is its supposed to illicit conversation and diverse opinion, but that only works if its art that means something and is relevant. When something like 97% of the people polled looked at it and said it was basically the dumbest thing that they'd ever seen, that's the wrong type of reaction or discussion, and its pissing away nearly half a million bucks that could have been spent elsewhere.

I have no problem with beautification, or purchasing art (Thought art at sewage treatment plants is ######ed). But at least have a fricken plan. and a proper location strategy.

In every aspect this is completely dumb.

[Dion]

[Minnie]

It kind of looks like a Muppet or Sesame Street puppet they forgot to finish...

[V]

Originally Posted by First Lady

17 meters

Yeah, so they can't change the lights with a simple bucket truck, which means even more expensive maintenance. Awesome idea.

Looks like yellow lighting, too, so that blue is going to look like ####e at night. Would've been a better idea to go to LED at least.

[GreenLantern]

Almost as bad as when Saskatoon decorated Victoria Bridge with lights:

The bridge's arches were equipped with several series of decorative LED lights in the summer of 2007. They included a programmable controller that makes the lights change colour and move in different patterns. However, the lights have proved controversial; they cost the city $462,000, which was almost twice the city's original estimate. They have also broken down frequently since installation, fueling further complaints from the public about their high price tag.[12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic...28Saskatoon%29

Oh yea, and that bridge is also condemned now and will be torn down.

Great move Atchison!

[Bane]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

This has been addressed by the ring via twitter.

I suppose it would be poetic to suspend an outhouse from the ring, rather than a car. Then it would represent both the crap load of money spent on the so called art as well as the public's opinion of it.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Bane

I suppose it would be poetic to suspend an outhouse from the ring, rather than a car. Then it would represent both the crap load of money spent on the so called art as well as the public's opinion of it.

That would be somewhat less of an engineering accomplishment. But it would be less of a knock-off of UBC.