Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Columbus vandalized again

posted on October 14th, 2010

For some reason the Columbus statue in Oakland has been the target of more vandalism this year than in years past. Columbus’ controversial legacy that includes discovering the “new world” from Europe’s perspective as well as bringing diseases to and enslaving the indigenous peoples of the Americas has also made this statue “probably the most popular piece of art that gets defaced for some reason” according to Pittsburgh public works director Rob Kaczorowski.

Apparently it was easier to clean up this time due to an anti-graffiti coating the statue got after the last defacing. I am against any damage to any public property, and while I can understand the feelings of the vandals, this is not an effective or appropriate way to vent those feelings. If by any chance those who committed this crime are reading this, stop hiding behind your spray paint and express yourself in a more mature way. Organize a protest, an educational event or start a movement to get rid of the statue if that is what you want. Graffiti is just going to be cleaned up again.

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Sculpture News

posted on November 22nd, 2009

I haven’t gotten over to see it yet, but a new statue of Fred Rogers was unveiled on the North Side this month! It is bronze and was sculpted by Robert Berks, who also did the statue of Mayor Caliguri that I’ve been meaning to get to. The one of Mr. Rogers is in a similar style, which has a little abstractness to it. Some peope don’t particularly care for it and would have preferred something more realistic, notably Jimmy Kimmel who said on his show that it makes Mr. Rogers look like a mud monster.

Also in the news this morning was a column from a former Post-Gazette writer demanding her Gene Kelly statue. From what I can tell on the internets, the reasons the statue has not been made a reality since its announcement in 2001 include location issues, approval from Kelly’s widow, and funds. We’ll have to see if Barbara Cloud’s column can get the ball moving again, but mentions in her column in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007 didn’t seem to do the trick.

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