Public Art Review

The statue of ANC activist Gert Sibande in central Bethal (South Africa) has had a paint job done on it (but not in a good way).Nope, vandals went and painted him white. Mission accomplished,they got the reaction they were looking for. Mpumalanga premier Thabang Makwetla angrily declared “I wish to condemn in the strongest possible terms the vandalisation and defacing of the newly erected statue. These are acts of remnants of racism [and] white supremacy who must be isolated and defeated,”.Sibande was an African National Congress activist and a leader of the farm labourers who initiated the potato boycott 1958.

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Say it aint so ! It seems Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s 2,200 year old terracotta warriors have foot fungi. Good god! Since being unearthed in 1974 and exposed to heat and humidity, tiny spores of tinea pedis have had a field day attacking the clay statues. Yep,it seems good old fungi excrete acid just loves ancient Chinese clay men (who knew?).Scientists examining the statues identified 60 different fungi growing on them, including a variation of athlete’s foot.But before you start checking between your own toes for spores, Johnson and Johnson (of baby powder fame) have found the cure. Bless. J&J invested years and big bucks researching molds on clay tiles and flowerpots before finally developing an assortment of successful fungicides. So, next time you are at Terracotta Warrior exhibition and are tempted to touch one just think ‘tinea pedis’!

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What is a Brisbane council to do when a vandal goes and paints the vagina on a woman statue pink? Remove it quick. The poor old council was already under fire for having the controversial statue (which depicts a naked woman lying in a fetal position with her genitals exposed) erected in a park near Brisbane. Antone Bruinsma’s Birth of Venus, which was commissioned by the former Caboolture Shire, was deemed “offensive to women” by the new amalgamated one. So I guess they were rather pleased that someone went and dolloped the privates in bright pink. It wouldn’t be a council member now would it ?
Evidently attempts to clean the paint off failed. Pity the fool that got that job!So the council made an executive decision to remove the sculpture completely from the park, as they believe it will be a sitting duck for future graffiti artists and vandals. Hmm the artist’s respond to the council throwing naked pink lady into storage “I feel it’s insulting to women to remove a vulva because of somebody’s attitude.”

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Ok, so it isn’t really a about public art, but as there is a lack of controversial stories this week relating to public art, I thought I would add this. Evidently two employees have quit their job over the New Hampshire Historical Society’s decision to sell Hannah Duston Bobbleheads.

So who is Hannah Duston ? Well in 1697, Hannah Duston was ripped from her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts by Abenaki Indians to an island in the Merrimack River in Concord. After being supposedly abused by the Indians she is said to have escaped by scalping members of the tribe. Bobblehead/scalping, I can see the conflict ! Especially as Hannah Dunston bobblehead is holding a hatchet (ouch!). Hmm tad insensitive I agree and not really appropriate for a historical society. Maybe the society should have done a Bobblehead of her sister, Elizabeth, who was convicted and hung for killing her illegitimate twin babies. As a point of interest Hannah is believed to be the first woman honored in the United States with a statue and now, the first woman scalper to be honored with a Bobblehead.

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When you approve a statue of Jesus (with an erection) to be shown in your art gallery, you are bound to find yourself in some sort of trouble. But I bet the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead weren’t expecting to find themselves facing six months prison and a £5,000 fine. Hmm that seems the price you have to pay for outraging public decency. The culprit behind this sordid tale is controversial artist Terence Koh, who also included in the exhibition, statues of Mickey Mouse and ET with erections (they seemed to have avoided scrutiny). The main argument in the case seems to be “had the statue been of Muhammad rather than Christ, there would have been a far greater outcry”. I am surprised the artist didn’t include both !

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I’ve heard it all now, an art gallery at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead is being taken to court because one of their exhibitions displayed a statue of Jesus with an erection. Holy indecency. The main argument in the prosecution is “had the statue been of Mohammad rather than Christ, there would have been a far greater outcry”. I am thinking Yes ( ain’t that right Salman ?). The culprit is controversial artist, Terence Koh, who also included Mickey Mouse and ET with erections in the exhibition (but they escaped the wrath). Hmm the maximum fine for outraging public decency is six months prison and a £5,000 fine. Gee, if that is the case imagine how many sculptors we could get off the streets!

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Having a Barramundi with Bon !

You know I wrote a blog entry months ago asking if anyone knew where the hell the Bon Scott statue was in Fremantle, after all the pomp and ceremony. Well, I patiently waited for an announcement of its long awaited unveiling, only to discover it has already been unveiled, at Cicerello’s . Yes, that’s right, but before you get too excited I must warn you it isn’t outside but inside (I couldn’t make this up). Hmm, I am sure Bon Scott would see the funny side of his memorial location. A “fish n chip” shop really doesn’t seem to be that fitting for a rock icon. I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry. Does this mean instead of having a beer with Bon I will have to have Barramundi ?

So, who is to blame for this injustice ? I have a sneaking suspicion local council weren’t exactly shaking all night long with the thought of Bon gracing the streets of their fair city. But in a Fish n Chips shop (no offense to Cicerellos) ! Surely one of the pubs could have plonked him near the bar ?

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It seems the bureaucrats are at it again, yes it has just been announced that the Kings Park Board have rejected an application for a statue to be erected in the War Memorial precinct of the park. Now, one would assume that the application was for some horrific eyesore. But alas no, the application was from the Perth Legacy group to have a statue, not unlike the one that so proudly stands next the Melbourne’s shrine of Remembrance, to be placed near the main War Memorial. A small statue of a widow women with her two small children doesn’t seem like too much to ask, considering the role Legacy plays in helping the widows, widowers and children of deceased members of our armed services. Presently the organisation is looking after 7,500 thousand widows/widowers and their children. Legacy provides financial & medical support and accommodation if needed and have been helping families in Western Australia since the 1920’s.
Now wait for it, the boards reasoning was that the statue wasn’t suitable for the designated area. I think the Government should take a long hard look at all these boards who are supposedly representing the people of Perth!

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Is everyone familiar with CowParade? If not let me fill you in. CowParade is a charity event, boasting to be the “largest Public Art event in the world”. The general gist is if comes to your city, you get hundreds of 60kg fibre glass cows to decorate and then auction off for charity. Usually the city invites celebrities and artists to decorate the beasts as that usually raises more money (and interest). Now this event is nothing to be sneezed at, it raises millions of dollars and travels all over the world. But the event also has its fair share of controversy, David “Twin Peaks” Lynch’s cow was rejected in the New York cow parade, deemed too gruesome. It had knives and forks in its back and no head.

However the biggest controversy happened in Stockholm, Sweden when one of the cows was kidnapped. A Swedish organization calling themselves The Militant Graffiti Artists of Stockholm claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and sent a video to the local new station. The militants appeared in the footage with the “hooded” cow, demanding that the organizers of the Cow Parade declare the event “non art”. Evidently the group were none too impressed with the blatant advertising sprawled all over the fibreglass cows. Needless to say their demands were ignored and the cow was decapitated. I told you I couldn’t make this up! Nobody was ever charged with this brutally funny crime.

If you spot one of these CowParade cows in your neighborhood let me know. There has got to be thousands of them around the world, but where are they ? I spotted one old cow in Denver.

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