Top 10 Most Hated Public Art (Part 2)

A few weeks ago I did a video on the most absurd, wasteful and in some cases gross looking pieces of public art. The comments section was full of dozens of other sculptures that would have been appropite choices for the list, so I went ahead and picked the best from the comments to make the top 10 most controversial pieces of public art, part 2.

Highlights
0:00 - Intro
0:18 - 10. Vaillancourt Fountains - San Fransisco, USA
1:35 - 9. Talus Dome - Edmonton, Canada
2:43 - 8. Blue Mustang - Denver, USA
4:03 - 7. The Calling - Milwaukee, USA
5:19 - 6. Vault - Melbourne, Australia
6:27 - 5. Bowfort Towers - Calgary, Canada
7:22 - 4. 54 Columns - Atlanta, USA
8:35 - 3. Angel of the North - Gateshead, United Kingdom
10:09 - 2. Still Life with Stone and Car - Sydney, Australia
11:22 - 1. Twain - St. Louis, USA

[thomassynths]

Inconveniently placed fence walls = Art

[brianlorsung]

In the 80s, Saint Louis residents placed hundreds of pink flamingo yard ornaments around the Twain Sculpture as an act of protest.

[felps_]

Remember kids, if you throw a rock at a car, it's vandalism, but if a slightly famous person does it, it's called art and it's put in the middle of a roundabout... 👀

[masudashizue]

Good that at least the homeless can find use for these monstrosities.

[gtvchuck]

The "Tilted Arc" by Richard Serra in the Federal Plaza in New York, a 120 foot long, 12 foot tall wall of rusted steel, was so hated that it was removed. You had to take a massive detour to walk around it if you were crossing the plaza.

[Eragor-hn]

2:47 Ironically, Blucifer has become a bit of a local icon due to its prominence at Denver International Airport. Lots of artwork has been made using that mustang, and it is possibly the second most well known sculpture in the city (only being surpassed by the Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center). I will say this, though: despite its prominence, the City of Denver made sure to put in *no paths leading to the Mustang*, meaning people cannot park and walk up to the Mustang on foot. And they cannot stop by the Mustang along the road because the road is, in effect, a controlled access highway. All drivers literally get exposed to that stallion for only a few seconds as they pass by on their way to and from the airport.

[gtvchuck]

For it to cost $3 million to replace a water pump for that fountain in San Francisco, and also a quarter million a year cost to operate the fountain, is a prime example of government waste.

[HekateMGO]

If hobos can’t use your sculpture as a shelter is it even a sculpture?

[a-]

It's so weird with the location of some of the US sculptures shown, especially when compared to the location of the Angel of the North -- which has its own car park, access paths and what looks like a cafe and toilets etc.
As it should. There is no point in spending a fortune on a giant sculpture (or even a medium size one) unless you can turn it into a tourist attraction. People love to have their photo taken next to a sculpture, and the weirder it is, the more they like it. Even really bad sculptures. They will go out of their way to do so. Sculptures are fantastic for bringing in visitors and boosting the local economy.
I live in Australia and I've never seen any sculptures here which are effectively isolated from people and put where they can only be seen from 500 metres away like in the US, or next to highways as if they are a billboard. Where there is nowhere to park your car and walk up to the sculpture and appreciate it, sit and have your lunch next to it, or let your kids climb on it .(There are metal statues in my city which have shiny patches on them where kids have been climbing on them for decades.)
Does anyone know why the inaccessible sculptures were so located?

[a-]

Hahaha you included the squashed red car! Sydney is my city. The car is located next to a cliff face, (see video), it really does look as if the rock may have fallen from above. The painted face is only visible if you're travelling from a certain direction. And if there are signs saying This is Art, from a vehicle you can't see them.
I remember the first time I saw the squashed car.
As we were driving past I said to my fellow passengers, "oh no, look there's been an accident "..
the next time, I'm going through the roundabout again and I'm like "Why haven't they towed that car wreck away? so weird"
The third time, I'm "Definitely a fatal impact. Have they left this here as a warning?"
It's got those creepy wrecker yard vibes, especially driving past at night.

[lucillewilliams]

I would love a list like this of most loved public art

[dogboyiscoollike]

An interesting idea for a follow up video would be looking at the most expensive public art projects

[fwiffo]

The most bizarre piece of public art I've ever seen was "Go Mama" in Palo Alto, CA. It was this weird running doll thing with a big baby's head for a chest. I did get a selfie with it before it was removed in 2018 so that I could prove to any doubters that it actually existed.

[dlbstl]

When I saw your videos titled 10 most hated public art, I immediately thought of my local St Louis wall sculpture. I was really pleased to see that it was number one. It's too bad they didn't complete the artist's conception for landscaping, walkways, and benches. I think that could have made it more palatable. As it is, everyone thinks it's an eyesore.

[billsmith]

i'd bet the city with the wrecked car probably won't let you have a wrecked car on your property . some art is a lot like the story of the emperor's new clothes .

[vyrnmn]

Still Life with Stone & Car is absolutely hilarious. I love it.

[ericswain]

Ya, #10 San Fran Vaillancourt Fountain. What an eyesore. I remember when they installed it, I thought it was part of a construction site demolition. What an atrocity. We need public over site by the people of the city not by comissioned city elitest.

[Doc_Tar]

I lived in St. Louis for 7 years and never knew #1 existed. Thanks, for bring it to attention.

[frankupton]

And the moral of the story is: there are always plenty of funds for the boss's pet project.

[cardi-jo]

Unbelievable. The money spent is ridiculous! 😢