Pentagon Art: $600,000 Gurgling Toad Sculpture

[The Straight Story]

A $600,000 frog sculpture that lights up, gurgles "sounds of nature" and carries a 10-foot fairy girl on its back could soon be greeting Defense Department employees who plan to start working at the $700 million Mark Center in Alexandria, Va. this fall. That is unless a new controversy over the price tag of the public art doesn't torpedo the idea.



Decried as wasteful spending that will be seen by just a couple thousand of daily workers who arrive on bus shuttles, foes have tried to delay the decision, expected tomorrow, April 1. But in an E-mail, an Army Corps of Engineers official said that the decision can't be held up because it would impact completion of the huge project.

The City of Alexandria just announced that there are four works of art being considered and that a final decision needs to be made fast. The artwork was put on display for public comment from March 24 to today. The Alexandria News first reported the hasty announcement to decide a winner.

The schedule surprised some who thought that the costly artwork project was on the "back burner," according to critic Donald Buch, a member of the mayor's advisory committee overseeing the Mark Center project. "What's the rush?" he asked.

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/03/31/pentagon-art-600000-gurgling-toad-sculpture

[Poll_Blind]

1. What the hell?

:wtf:

PB

[RZM]

2. I sincerely hope this is an April Fool's joke n/t

[walldude]

4. That's what I said when Ashcroft decided to cover the

Lady Of Justice's breasts...

[RZM]

6. I wonder if his beef wasn't just the breasts, but the fact that she was blindfolded too

That's pretty kinky . . .

[KittyWampus]

3. Meanwhile, if the DD started a football team, it'd be lauded.

edit- I do like the alternative idea of a nature park instead But that would require regular maintenance.

[kenny blankenship]

5. Dude, $600K is for the PEDESTAL

And that's if they cut it from granite. The actual sculpture is going to be a multiple of that.

[gratuitous]

7. They couldn't find a black velvet Elvis portrait?

I'm all for art set-asides for projects. Some of the pieces adorning public buildings are quite nice. But if that photo is representational (and this isn't an April Fool's story), uh . . . Well, let's just say I don't know art, but I know what I like. And don't like. And what I've seen in the throes of a roaring hangover.

[cali]

8. I wouldn't be for this if it was the work of a budding Michelangeo

this isn't public art- it will be seen by very few people.

[meow mix]

9. its pretty cool looking though

just sayin

[kentauros]

15. I like it, too,

but it seems out of place for a DoD building. Wouldn't it make more sense in front of the EPA building, seeing as how frogs and fairies have something to do with nature? ;)

[Mojorabbit]

19. I love it

and I know in my city there are complaints in the best of time about any public artwork so I am ambivalent. There are a bajillion people hurting that could make use of that money but I think art is also so very important.
Perhaps a smaller version of the sculpture could be made?

[Angry Dragon]

10. The money would be better spent on bombs ..........

[woodsprite]

11. Gurgling Toads? Sounds like an appropriate scultpure to me

but they could have commissioned a fairy artist on eBay to make it for much much less than that. Probably would have looked better too.

[kentauros]

16. No, they should have gone to Regretsy

:P

[Vinca]

12. I'm no art expert, but that looks like a Walmart garden statue.

[n2doc]

13. And I thought this was a story about a Cheney Statue n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. First, I absolutely adore this sculpture, as I'm equally aghast that

it was paid for by government money and stands in a government office.

That money would best be spent teaching Art Classes in the elementary grades.

[felix_numinous]

17. Seems very out of place

to have such delicate fantasy art at the DOD, life is very strange these days.

[eppur_se_muova]

18. "Gurgling Toads" sounds like a great name for a really BAD band. nt

:)