Sir Barken Hyena writes:
Seekers of Bad Public Art are in luck, that is, as long as you’re in the enlightened and progressive state of New Mexico (why do they need public art there at all? Aren’t the sunsets enough?). Use this nifty interactive map to locate and view all of the Bad Public Art sites in the Land of Enchantment. True, the map doesn’t claim to show you “bad” art sites, merely “public’ art, but a bit of clicking around will quiet your fears, son.
Interactive Bad Public Art Map
“Give me your tired, your hackneyed, your overconceptualized”
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
Also you can just browse the Flickr stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/abqpublicart/2534820974/
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There are some wonderful examples of that around here. Time for another photo montage!
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That is an awful lot of unnecessary silliness, isn’t it? You’re right: why don’t people just enjoy the sunsets instead? (Maybe they do … Does anyone really spend much time looking at the public art?) Public art: what a scam, at least 99% of the time.
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It is definitely a scam. A guy I know has a Masters in sculpture from the local state university, he knows the movers and shakers in the local scene, including the city arts commissioner. She told him we needed public art because otherwise the “people in Boston and New York will think we’re backwards”. (that’s a bad thing? – this long predated the current anti-Arizona fever in the media). So yeah, it’s not for the locals, it’s for the cocktail party set when they go back east.
He also told me that most of the projects were absolute junk in a strictly technical sense. He made a lot of money contracting to repair things that were falling apart, most of which were only a few years old. And this in Arizona where nothing rots or rusts!
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