
It could have been worse. They could have stuck it in the middle of a parking lot. Had they done that, nobody would think it was art. People would assume it was an unconventionally designed bicycle shelter or something.
Or they could have put it out front of a scrapyard, where nobody would have noticed it at all.
I'm not making fun of it. I'm making the point that the context is really important. If you stick an androgynous bronze statue beside the loading dock of a mannequin warehouse, how will people take it? If you put "Voice of Fire" in the office of the Prime Minister of Iceland, would people recognize it as art or just assume it was some sort of banner based on the national flag?