Monday, May 16, 2011

The Severed Head of Victor Ashe

For as much as I talk about art and how much I believe in it and how evil the city art task force is, I do have to say that some art just isn't for everybody.

For example, I think the sculpture in the middle of the pedestrian walkway on campus is ugly:

a startling whirlwind of opportunity

I'm not alone. The students protested loudly when it was installed, and the school eventually had to install security cameras due to damage done by vandals. They don't have cameras for the fish with legs:

fish statue

or the Torchbearer:

torchbearer with flag (2)

or the naked girl riding a bull that I don't seem to have a photograph of, but they have them to watch that fugly pile of aluminum and plastic. And yes, I realize that there is technique and symbolism and all sorts of hard work and careful thought that went into that sculpture, but no amount of education or art appreciation will make me think that thing doesn't look like the sad playground at a run-down McDonald's.

Anyway, the whole reason I was thinking about ugly art, or, more charitably, art gone wrong, was the sculpture that I saw this weekend at Victor Ashe Park. Elizabeth and I met Kay there very early on Saturday morning to volunteer for the Great Strides Walk to end cystic fibrosis. We had a lot of fun handing out t-shirts all morning, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it, too.

They had face painting, a clown making balloon animals:

clown

food and drinks:

food and registration

a silent auction:

silent auction

and the whole thing was presided over by a creepy severed bronze head on a pike.

Yeah, you heard me.

This has to be the most horribly misguided memorial sculpture I've ever seen:

the severed head of victor ashe (2)

unless Victor Ashe had some sort of skin condition, or decapitation problem, or tragic skull crushing accident:

the severed head of victor ashe (1)

in which case I will apologize profusely.

As it is, though, I think that thing is creepy and weird and kind of unattractive.

3 comments:

Margaret Morris said...

WHAT THE WHAT?!?!?!?

Justin Bower said...

it's like it's trying to be three types of art at once, and is full of fail in the process.

CharlesGrey said...

I think that the statue on your campus isn't that bad, your picture makes it look kind of pretty. I don't think it's abstract it's a sun shining over a broken tower I think unless that's just the fact that you photoshopped all it's flaws and blemishes away.