400 replies to this topic

[todd]

I have no idea my parents refused to let me take sex-ed.

[Rob Randall]

I have no idea my parents refused to let me take sex-ed.

 

Here's some Jeff Koons vaguely sexual octupus-related art that might tickle your fancy:

 

http://www.jeffkoons...ereal/bluepoles

[todd]

Everybody hates this: https://youtu.be/CJparpU4HCo

[zoomer]

Soon to be relocated to the foot of the Johnson Street Bridge, if the City's plan goes ahead.

Well, I assume it's moving this month because Commerce Canoe is all fenced off with tarp and they've dug out the base to expose where it's bolted down.

[Mike K.]

Very good. Thanks for the update.

[G-Man]

Sad. It really made Bastion Square in my opinion. They are just doing this because they screwed the pooch on getting the art that was supposed to go ready I suppose.

[Rob Randall]

It's ridiculous to move it. A great deal of effort was made to chose a piece of artwork suitable for Bastion Square. A lot of artists submitted detailed plans and after a lot of deliberation the tulips were chosen. Now it's to be ripped out and relocated. The artist is OK with it but really, what else could he say? So does Bastion Square get another replacement artwork? If so, why do the stupid relocation and simply get a custom piece done for the bridge area.

[Mike K.]

I believe there will be a First Nations art installation in the square to replace the piece being moved.

[Nparker]

...why do the stupid relocation and simply get a custom piece done for the bridge area.

I can give you at least 105 million reasons why a custom art piece became out of the question for the JSB site - each of them including a "$"

And the replacement piece for Bastion Square better be damn cheap, like "gift to the city" cheap.

Edited by Nparker, 13 October 2019 - 09:47 AM.

[Mike K.]

It was estimated that the surfboard concept would cost nearly twice the anticipated budget of ~$250k to procure and install, so they dropped the idea.

[G-Man]

One place I am not in favour of saving money is on public art. We already have a significant deficit of it.

[G-Man]

There is a statue just gathering dust that could go in Bastion Square I suppose.

[zoomer]

Is this another case of an idea being floated.. and next thing you know it’s a fait accompli?

Transplanting - root removal by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[Greg]

Moving it is a terrible idea. It was a site specific installation, and it completely makes Bastion Square.

[Nparker]

One place I am not in favour of saving money is on public art. We already have a significant deficit of it.

In an ideal world, I would agree, however we have a local government that seems to be incapable of managing a budget, so cuts have to be made somewhere. As a taxpayer I can't afford to have a 24% annual increase in my property taxes even if some of that money is going to the arts.

[Victoria Watcher]

Moving it is a terrible idea. It was a site specific installation, and it completely makes Bastion Square.

 

bastion merchants wanted it gone.  

[Greg]

bastion merchants wanted it gone.  

 

Who? Why? It isn't near any merchants, and couldn't possibly have been doing Darcy's or The Local any harm.

[aastra]

I think the major issue with this particular art installation is that it was successful. It ended up being a great fit, popular with tourists, just the right scale, just the right splash of colour, and a defining element of the square. Hence, it needed to go, in order to create more of that disruption, controversy, and crisis that feeds the political machine.

 

Hopefully whatever replaces it will be hugely controversial, awkward, detrimental to the Bastion Square vibe, way too small or way too big, etc.

[aastra]

Methinks it's a classic case of trying to fix what isn't broken. Crikey, Victorians have had such an uneasy relationship with public art installations in recent years, and yet the one that gets dealt with is the last one that anybody thought needed to be dealt with.

[Nparker]

The only reason Commerce Canoe is being moved is that it will fit in the JSB space and that its replacement in Bastion Square (a 30-foot welcoming pole) is going to be cheaper than a custom piece at the bridge site. CC's purpose or success at the Square is irrelevant to the decision. Just one more failure by our local government.