Public "Art"

[OMG!WTF!]

Man this guy is a piece of work...

I grew up in North Dakota amongst the Sioux Indians or Native Americans as they’re called over there, went to school with them, played basketball with them, the works. Their culture is what I’ve understood since I was born. I surely had known they had raised scaffolding structures there, the Knife River Indians certainly did that, but these don’t look like that. They were flat at the top. These are angles, these are presented differently and if you want to drag that kind of symbolism which is completely wrong and inappropriate to my work, you’re grasping at straws.

Quit grasping at straws you stupid Blackfoot....these are angled not flat. Duuuh.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Man this guy is a piece of work...

Quit grasping at straws you stupid Blackfoot....these are angled not flat. Duuuh.

[Resolute 14]

I assume "this guy" is the alleged artist? Could you please link sources for comments like that? Most of us would like to be afforded the opportunity to read the entire source in context.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I assume "this guy" is the alleged artist? Could you please link sources for comments like that? Most of us would like to be afforded the opportunity to read the entire source in context.

Mos def. Sorry...

http://calgaryherald.com/storyline/a...feels-offended

Yes, it's the artist's quote.

[Minnie]

Edited: OMGWTF posted a link at the same time. No need for 2 of the same link

[afc wimbledon]

My main objection to this guys work, and most 'big' conceptual sculptures who sell to corporations and public authorities for outdoor installations is the complete paucity of thought behind their work, this guy came up with one idea, suspend some rocks in a steel framework and has been essentially selling that one idea for years, its completely pointless from an artistic perspective, you don't need 10 or 20 versions of the same piece to explore what ever concept he had in the first place, as such its a bit of a con from an artistic point of view frankly.

Mind you cant say I blame him, if someone paid me to wack out the same thing over and over again with little real thought to the process Id take the money and run.

[chemgear]

[CliffFletcher]

Outdoor installations are always going to be pricey because steel and granite and huge wooden beams are expensive. The raw materials are expensive, transporting them is expensive, and installing them is expensive. People shocked at the $500k price tag probably aren't aware a set of traffic lights can cost close to that.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Outdoor installations are always going to be pricey because steel and granite and huge wooden beams are expensive. The raw materials are expensive, transporting them is expensive, and installing them is expensive. People shocked at the $500k price tag probably aren't aware a set of traffic lights can cost close to that.

I can install piles at 2k per pile. And rent a crane for about 15k. So the installation and materials for this project shouldn't have been more than about 50k to install. Maybe you creep toward 100k once you include drawings and the overheads

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by GGG

I can install piles at 2k per pile. And rent a crane for about 15k. So the installation and materials for this project shouldn't have been more than about 50k to install. Maybe you creep toward 100k once you include drawings and the overheads

Each of those steel columns would be about $5-8k. Those stone slabs run about $1k/ton.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

Each of those steel columns would be about $5-8k. Those stone slabs run about $1k/ton.

You think so, I haven't seen them up close but they look like 6" Square HSS about 10m-15m long. So 5-8k seems pretty expensive.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by GGG

You think so, I haven't seen them up close but they look like 6" Square HSS about 10m-15m long. So 5-8k seems pretty expensive.

Looks like maybe 10" to me, but who knows. How about you help me measure. You hold the other end of the tape measure out your car window while we drive by.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

When it comes to needing a zero maintenance steel, the options are cor-ten (weathering steel), galvanized, and stainless.

Stainless for something like this would be insanely expensive. Galvanized would be difficult with large pieces, and would be more expensive as well. The basically leaves one option.

We don't need zero-maintenance steel, though. Just paint it so it looks good. Cor-ten is motha fataing hideous and we have too much of it trashing up our city already.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

Personally, I find it shocking, SHOCKING, that a city full of neo-conservative, oil workers has terrible taste in public art.

"If art, all art, is concerned with truth, then a society in denial will not find much use for it" .Jeanette Winterson

Personally I find it shocking, SHOCKING, that some loudmouth from the Island took this situation as an opportunity to diss an entire city. I find it less shocking that even local Natives are not impressed (offended) with this piece of "art", and are planning on talking to the Mayor about it.

Tighten up your birkenstocks, put down your granola, and walk on over here to Calgary and get ready to "work" (you are a professional protester, aren't you? Being from the Island and all). Do you know which side you're going to be on once you arrive? The side that thinks that everyone can STFU because art is art, or the Native side that is offended by it?

[jammies]

I have a much less complicated theory of art that I want to popularize: if our entire civilization gets pounded into rubble, and a thousand years from now archaeologists find your work buried in the ruins, will it be recognized as art?

Proposing that some art needs the correct context to appreciate as art is just wrong, unless by "context" you refer to universal human experience. Art as commentary on itself is just criticism, and critics aren't artists. Perhaps that is the appeal of crap in a can, it's the kind of vapid inspiration a critic can imagine himself having and successfully executing as well as any other crap-in-a-can master ever born.

[Smartcar]

Obviously I'm in the minority here, but I actually quite like it. I thought the blue ring was poor - unattractive, bad proportions, not sure what it was trying to convey. IMO this has more thought behind it and looks pretty cool.

[Mr.Coffee]

I would (very honestly and unapologetically) prefer property taxes not go up if it meant we couldn't afford steel and rocks awkwardly draped together on major roads.

I guess that makes me 'philistine' or some other condescending term about Calgarians yet oddly I find satisfaction in going against basically whatever Tinordi likes or thinks is right. One time I had to agree with him and it just felt wrong. Sort of like this piece of art.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I would (very honestly and unapologetically) prefer property taxes not go up if it meant we couldn't afford steel and rocks awkwardly draped together on major roads.

I guess that makes me 'philistine' or some other condescending term about Calgarians yet oddly I find satisfaction in going against basically whatever Tinordi likes or thinks is right. One time I had to agree with him and it just felt wrong. Sort of like this piece of art.

Where do you draw the line?

Should everything constructed by the city have zero dollars spent on athstetics?

Or is there a reasonable amount to be spent on athestetics and this particular spending you disagree with?

[CliffFletcher]

Disliking the piece isn't the issue. What makes Calgarians look bad is treating it as a civic scandal.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by GGG

Where do you draw the line?

Should everything constructed by the city have zero dollars spent on athstetics?

Or is there a reasonable amount to be spent on athestetics and this particular spending you disagree with?

those are good questions I'll have to think about. I'm leaning towards your latter statement / question though.