Art or eyesore? Doug MacCash defends modern art in Metairie

(04/03/2008)

8:02

Welcome to The Times-Picayune's live chat with Doug MacCash. Please feel free to post questions and thoughts this morning. Doug will be online at noon and do his best to respond to each comment.

Thursday April 3, 2008 8:02

11:58

[Comment From AnninNOAnninNO: ]

Here's my problem with the art installation: The parish installs art on one of the busiest thoroughfares. Who has time to stop and enjoy the art along Vets? This art should have been placed in a park where citizens could have pondered it and debated it. It's a disservice to the art and the parish. Besides if you want to beautify Vets, you have to start with rules about signs and architecture.

Thursday April 3, 2008 11:58 AnninNO

11:59

Wooof, that's a good one.

For now we'll have to settle for an accumulative effect -- drivers will contemplate each sculpture for 10 seconds, 10,000 times.

What is Vets? If it's an outdoor shopping mall -- which it seems to be -- then removing or reducing commercial signs defeats the purpose.

Thursday April 3, 2008 11:59

11:59

[Comment From JamesJames: ]

One poster wrote: "Art is something that looks like something in the real world." Do you agree with that statement?

Thursday April 3, 2008 11:59 James

12:00

Not since 1839. When they invented the photograph, the duty of artists changed. It was no longer necessary to record the real world; it became necessary to interpret it. Modern art began on that date.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:00

12:00

[Comment From DCHDCH: ]

Please give a recap of the cost. If I remember correctly, that is the real controversey now that I see what the results are. As far as art goes, I'm Ok with it. Nothing great.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:00 DCH

12:01

The sculpture was essentially free, I'm told. It is on loan from the New Orleans Museum of Art. The overall landscaping on Veterans Memorial Boulevard reportedly will cost $658,232.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:01

12:02

[Comment From bayabonitabayabonita: ]

Doug, won't the sculptures be harmed by being out in the elements? Or perhaps damaged when someone has one too many daiquires?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:02 bayabonita

12:03

First, the driver would have to convince the cops he hadn't run into the sculpture on purpose: "But officer, I love modern art."

Truth is, public art is always in some danger, but welded steel should be able to take care of itself as well as anything.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:03

12:04

[Comment From SJLEBLANCSJLEBLANC: ]

In a city so heavily damaged wouldn't the money be better spent on rebuilding? How much did it cost total? Looking at the locations in the photos it would have been better spent in improving the area.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:04 SJLEBLANC

12:05

Good question. Maybe strengthening the cultural appeal of Jefferson Parish IS part of the recovery. The sculpture was a loan. The project cost $658,232. Barbara Turner Windhorst, the Jefferson Parish civic activist who first asked NOMA for the sculpture says the project was paid for by the businesses along Vets.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:05

12:05

[Comment From JamesbywaterJamesbywater: ]

The sculpture are just pieces of iron thrown together. It's not eye pleasing. To me, art should be pleasing to the eye. This is nothing, it's just scrap metal and should be taken to the nearest junk yard. I'd like you to do a survey to see what people say. Do people of Jefferson want this? Do the people of New Orleans want this? If not, it should be junked.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:05 Jamesbywater

12:06

The eternal question is: Pleasing to whose eye?

Picasso supposedly said that good art bristles with razor blades -- at least every art student believes he said something like that. When Picasso donated a sculpture to Chicago in the 1960s, the people there felt pretty much the same way the people in Metairie do now.

Is rock 'n' roll pleasing to the ear?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:06

12:06

[Comment From DavidDavid: ]

IT IS STUPID TO SPEND MONEY ON ART PROJECTS THAT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE. GET A BRAIN..........USE THE MONEY FOR SOMETHING MAIN STREAM AND NOT CONTROVERSIAL.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:06 David

12:06

Art only becomes mainstream with time. In a few weeks, the controversial sculpture will be as familiar as the Puglia's shark.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:06

12:07

[Comment From boobybooby: ]

They're ugly....discuss.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:07 booby

12:07

[Comment From davedave: ]

i dig them, hope they continue to stir conversation...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:07 dave

12:07

[Comment From RandallRandall: ]

Fred Sanford has better art pieces in his junkyard

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:07 Randall

12:07

[Comment From JohnJohn: ]

Most public art is execrable -- stuff that the artist could never sell to anyone else. From coast to coast, our parks, plazas. esplanades and neutral grounds are littered with this stuff -- but no one wants to be labeled a Philistine, so it gets crammed down our throats. In fact, most of this mess in Metairie looks like Katrina debris that the haulers dropped on their way to the landfill. More trees and flowering shrubs would be more aethetically pleasing to more people, and better for the environment.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:07 John

12:08

[Comment From RobertRobert: ]

This isn't art it looks more like Katrina debris. I thought we were supposed to be working towards recovery?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:08 Robert

12:08

As in all things, there's some good, some bad. The trouble is telling the difference. What if we were talking about music from the 70s. Who's better Bob Dylan or Abba?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:08

12:09

Jamesbywater asked for a survey, so here it is: Do the people want modern art on Veterans Memorial Boulevard?
absolutely

( 67% )

heck, no

( 33% )

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:09

12:10

[Comment From MerMer: ]

Do you feel that the citizens of the Greater New Orleans area would better receive the installations if they were created by local artists? Why weren't local artists commissioned to provide pieces for the street?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:10 Mer

12:10

I'd rather see art by Jeff artists like Ida Kohlmeyer and Gina Laguna (I can't think of another Metairie modernist). But the NOMA sculpture was free and ready to go.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:10

12:11

Do you think modern art belongs on Vets?
absolutely

( 51% )

heck,no

( 49% )

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:11

12:12

[Comment From NatalieNatalie: ]

Well, personally, I think it was a mistake to put this art on Veterans. It's a terrible venue. Who made that decision? Why not up on the Fly by the river or downtown in front of an office building. Lord. City Hall could certainly use something bright and interesting close by....As far as art not being valid if it's not "beautiful" well, that goes against everything I teach my students every day. Art is visual communication. Artists express a wide range of ideas through their work. Some ideas are simple. Some are complex. Some are "beautiful" (whatever that means). Others are disturbing. If my students only want to duplicate reality, I tell them to take a snapshot. There time is better used that way. If they want to personally communicate an idea, well that's a different story and a pursuit that requires thought, effort, and creativity. I say move the sculptures back to Orleans. I'd love to see them here.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:12 Natalie

12:13

Imagine how many more people will see them where they are. When I was the curator at the Contemporary Arts Center, I used to say we should always put our best stuff in the front window. That way everyone who stopped at the stoplight on Camp and Joseph streets would see it.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:13

12:14

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

so natalie has a valid point, but honestly, let's spread the artistic wealth! bring it further down vets, closer to the airport!!!

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:14 DC smartone

12:14

[Comment From bob vancebob vance: ]

whatever happened to simply erecting statues remembering historic leaders or important people from our city's past? these statues are able to tell a story and educate the citizens, as well as stir up some civic pride. I realize that as an art critic, you have the ultimate trump card by being able to say that "those who don't like it just don't understand it," but if we are putting "art" out there for mass consumption, shouldn't it be able to be understood and enjoyed by more than just the few elitists who somehow manage to see something of merit in it?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:14 bob vance

12:15

I wouldn't argue. I don't think putting modern sculpture at two intersections, however, stops anyone from putting up a classic sculpture of a hero elsewhere. Veterans Memorial Boulevard is long street with plenty of neutral ground.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:15

12:15

[Comment From dotsiedotsie: ]

modern art along veterans? i haven't noticed it yet, but i'm excited to see it! we need more art! everywhere! talk about sprucing up the neighborhood : )

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:15 dotsie

12:16

[Comment From ShaniquaShaniqua: ]

I think the art doesn't fit the area. I'm all for artistic expression, but it just kind of stands out. Veterans Blvd. is crowded enough with or without these eyesores!

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:16 Shaniqua

12:16

I disagree. If you stand at the Bonnabel intersection and look around -- and be careful, if you do -- you'll agree that a lot of the surrounding architecture is modern and splashed with bright color. Visually speaking, the sculptures blend better on Vets than in City Park.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:16

12:17

[Comment From DavidDavid: ]

eyesore

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:17 David

12:17

Compared to what? Vets is crowded with stuff that -- visually speaking - is much harder on the eye than these sculptures. Ever notice the totally pink donut shop or the giant infated red guy? I'd argue they're much harder on the eye. Funny thing, I actually like them. And I LOVE the yellow "Divorces" sign. I swear, you could put that in the lobby of NOMA right now.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:17

12:18

Hey, if you haven't seen your comment yet, don't fret. It just takes a while for them to move through the system. They're coming...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:18

12:18

[Comment From R hebertR hebert: ]

I've seen better sculpture in 3D design classes in local high schools. The big difference is the so-called "artists" who created these big boat anchors had funds to produce them.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:18 R hebert

12:18

You may have. Generations have been taught to use geometric abstraction. Even Liberman, Gold and Trova were late-comers. Google Constantin Brancusi. He was making geometrically abstract art before World War One. Cool stuff too.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:18

12:19

[Comment From jehosephatjehosephat: ]

Just got an IM from Harry Lee: "Get dis crap outta my street!"

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:19 jehosephat

12:19

[Comment From LongTerm Metairie CitizenLongTerm Metairie Citizen: ]

I think it's a serious waste of taxpayer's money. There are more serious matters that our money should be spent on such as the constant flooding in Elmwood and surrounding areas. Apparently the politicians think this artwork will make them look good, not so.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:19 LongTerm Metairie Citizen

12:21

Again, the sculpture is on loan from NOMA. The project cost $658,232. Barbara Turner Windhorst, a Jefferson Parish civic activist who first asked NOMA for the sculpture, told me that the project was paid for by the businesses along Vets.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:21

12:21

[Comment From dotsiedotsie: ]

i cannot beleive people are actually ticked about art...don't they know that lots of cities HAVE this form of art? they (the negative commentros) need to get a brain...or at least an art education and appreciation.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:21 dotsie

12:21

[Comment From bannock99bannock99: ]

It's strange to me that they would try to beautify Vets with art. I agree that drivers will have no time to look at the pieces as well as the fact that Vets is somewhat of a lost cause--it's an extended strip mall. Why not put the sculptures in an area that is truly trying to reinvent itself as an arts district, such as St. Claude Avenue. There are many galleries moving into this area, there is a Main St. grant to beautify the exteriors of the historic structures and the area is becoming a mecca for bohemian and artists types who I'm sure would welcome modern art into their area, not shun it. But the neutral ground on St. Claude is still in need of a lot of work. St. Claude is where the scuptures should be, not Vets.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:21 bannock99

12:22

I wouldn't argue. Someone should put art on St. Claude too.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:22

12:22

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

the BUSINESSES paid for the artwork...not taxpayers...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:22 DC smartone

12:22

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

the flooding in elmwood provides the artists with idea for making art...i visit elmwood everyday-i enjoy the high waters every so often! LOL

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:22 DC smartone

12:23

[Comment From WIngedWheelWIngedWheel: ]

Why do we worry about 'art' along Vets, one the the most psychotically zone commercial strips I've ever seen. What does it matter? The entire route is hideous. You don't go there to ohhh and ahhh over the beauty of the place. You go there to buy things.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:23 WIngedWheel

12:23

True. It surprises me that people are worried about the sculpture distracting drivers. How do drivers read about the wine sales at Martin's?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:23

12:23

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

no time to look at art on vets? think about how long you have sat in traffic on vets...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:23 DC smartone

12:26

[Comment From BigCashBigCash: ]

Wouldn't a better use of funds be encouraging local artists to submit works to be put on dispaly?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:26 BigCash

12:26

[Comment From dotsiedotsie: ]

who

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:26 dotsie

12:26

[Comment From BigCashBigCash: ]

Bob Dylan.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:26 BigCash

12:26

[Comment From jehosephatjehosephat: ]

Let's just call it a Katrina Memorial . . . problem solved

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:26 jehosephat

12:27

[Comment From JoshuaJoshua: ]

I like them. It makes the area look nicer

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:27 Joshua

12:29

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

we have a veterans memorial thing in front of lakeside mall...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:29 DC smartone

12:29

[Comment From krazykatt00krazykatt00: ]

how many sculptures will be placed on Vets?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:29 krazykatt00

12:29

There are three sculptures on Veterans Memorial Boulevard.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:29

12:30

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]

i always wonder why people have such a problem with anything contemporary. it seems as though content has set in and change is always negative. what identity will our generation have if all we do is mimic the past?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:30 Guest

12:30

Yes, none of us likes change. Change my breakfast cereal and I'm off for the whole day. But art is too important for habit. Artists have to explore the world as it is right now -- not the comfortable world of yesterday. That's their job. Sometimes they fail. Some contemporary art is just terrible. But artistic searching and experimenting HAS to go forward. I promise you, when young artists stop seeking new ways to express themselves it will mean our society is done.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:30

12:31

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

i agree with "Guest"...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:31 DC smartone

12:31

[Comment From krazykatt00krazykatt00: ]

who are the artist?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:31 krazykatt00

12:31

[Comment From krazykatt00krazykatt00: ]

oh I see the images.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:31 krazykatt00

12:31

[Comment From krazykatt00krazykatt00: ]

they are very ugly David smith they are NOT

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:31 krazykatt00

12:32

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

I actually LIKE change...and I think we need more of it.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:32 DC smartone

12:32

[Comment From MerMer: ]

I agree with the change comment but I just wish the installations were by locals. I think it would do wonders for city morale.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:32 Mer

12:32

[Comment From susansusan: ]

The art is one thing, but the display is another. What do you think of the retaining wall around the sculptures?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:32 susan

12:32

It's a bit much.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:32

12:33

[Comment From JulesJules: ]

Doug, please weigh in on the HIDEOUS retaining walls as a component of the art's overall presentation... I treally like Trace, but those ultra-tacky walls around the works are so hilariously Jeff Parish. I bet there's red cedar mulch inside the walls around the works' bases.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:33 Jules

12:33

I've got to agree about the bases. Mod sculpture wants something a little less decorative.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:33

12:33

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

He addressed the issue of locals earlier...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:33 DC smartone

12:37

In case you missed this: Ernest Trova did the blue one, Betty Gold did the rusty one and Alexander Liberman did the the orange one. By the way, NOMA director John Bullard says he decided to paint the Liberman and Trova in bright colors because he thought it would make them more appealing. In City Park they were painted brown. I thought they were just rusty, but that wasn't the case.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:37

12:37

[Comment From MudbugMudbug: ]

Maybe in New York - not in New Orleans

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:37 Mudbug

12:37

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]

I am an artist and am very open minded... however, I just find the pieces to be very very ugly. I can't help it. The walls are hideous too.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:37 Guest

12:37

[Comment From BrittanyBrittany: ]

omgz...I was driving daddy's H2 down Veterans on my way to eat at my favorite authentic asian restaurant (PF Changs) and seeing those statues almost made me drop my phone! can you believe?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:37 Brittany

12:38

Keep both hands on the wheel Brit.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:38

12:38

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

you shouldn't be on the phone while driving anyway..

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:38 DC smartone

12:39

Perhaps she was teasing. Then again...

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:39

12:39

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

nah...just La.'s finest....

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:39 DC smartone

12:40

[Comment From Jason BernosJason Bernos: ]

That thing is the ugliest thing i have ever seen

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:40 Jason Bernos

12:41

[Comment From susansusan: ]

The walls just seem so out of place to me around such modern sculpture. It almost is like someone thought at the last minute, oh yeah, we need to put something around them.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:41 susan

12:41

I bet someone picked modern art and then picked attractive landscaping walls without really thinking about how they'd loot together. Happens all the time.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:41

12:41

[Comment From davedave: ]

they could plaster the retaining walls so they didn't look so decorative,

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:41 dave

12:41

[Comment From MerMer: ]

Britt, I would ALMOST believe that statement if you'd put the z in front of the omg. ;)

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:41 Mer

12:42

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

maybe some reconsideration on the walls can be done?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:42 DC smartone

12:42

[Comment From neighborhood residentneighborhood resident: ]

I think the art work and walls are hideous. That money could and should have been used for something else.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:42 neighborhood resident

12:43

[Comment From nola architectnola architect: ]

I like the plaster idea.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:43 nola architect

12:45

[Comment From nola architectnola architect: ]

"maybe in New York - not New Orleans"..... please give our city a bit more credit.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:45 nola architect

12:45

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]

Maybe some one's cousin owns a brickyard.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:45 Guest

12:45

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]

I am an artist and am very open minded... however, I just find the pieces to be very very ugly. I can't help it. The walls are hideous too.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:45 Guest

12:45

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, of course. In your opinion what on Vets is beautiful? I'm serious. What should we compare the new sculpture to in order to assess its ugliness?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:45

12:46

[Comment From creepyunclecreepyuncle: ]

metarie is not new orleans

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:46 creepyuncle

12:46

[Comment From neighborhood residentneighborhood resident: ]

move them to canal street

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:46 neighborhood resident

12:47

[Comment From JamesJames: ]

Sweet Fire and Ice is beautiful, right? And all the McDonalds?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:47 James

12:47

[Comment From gggg: ]

WHAT ART ?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:47 gg

12:48

[Comment From nola architectnola architect: ]

i posted the comment as guest earlier. forgot to sign my name. anyway, i say bring on richard serra next. we can put a tilted arc in the lakeside parking lot. lol

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:48 nola architect

12:48

There are limits. In the 1980s artist Richard Serra blocked a New York plaza with a 10-foot-tall iron wall that prevented people from crossing -- I visited it once while it was still up. It was the most arrogant piece of art I've ever seen. Totally inhumane. Totally egotistical. Eventually the public got it removed. That's NOT what's going on on Vets.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:48

12:48

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

doug, you're a cool dude

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:48 DC smartone

12:49

[Comment From neighborhood residentneighborhood resident: ]

Sweet Fire and Ice, McDonalds and all the trash around Hurricanes Sports Bar and Grill and Mug Z's - It makes my blood boil.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 neighborhood resident

12:49

[Comment From GG: ]

art doesnt belong in metry

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 G

12:49

[Comment From GsfdgGsfdg: ]

art dont belong in metryy

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 Gsfdg

12:49

[Comment From DC smartoneDC smartone: ]

EWWWWW the mcdonalds and what it does to people is AWFUL

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 DC smartone

12:49

[Comment From GeorgeGeorge: ]

Anything to spice up Metairie's bland landscape is fine with me.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 George

12:49

[Comment From GeorgeGeorge: ]

I'm all for this. Metairie is about as bland as a tofu taco. Anything to spice up that boring landscape is OK with me.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49 George

12:49

Good for you. Even if drivers don't like the stuff, the new sculpture livens up the commute, right?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:49

12:51

[Comment From Ryan Del PinoRyan Del Pino: ]

how ugly.. the landscaping is beautiful and it helps that so called art look better

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:51 Ryan Del Pino

12:52

[Comment From creepyunclecreepyuncle: ]

I actually like all 3. but what do you think of painting them, doesn't that change the work of art significantly? Is that usual in modern art that someone randomly paints a scultpure just because? Mind you I don't think the paint looks bad (unlike the walls)

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:52 creepyuncle

12:52

John Bullard told me that the colors were compatible with colors the artists typically used in their work. I found another Liberman online that was as orange as the one on Vets. I approve. I like them better than when they were brown.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:52

12:53

[Comment From Ryan Del PinoRyan Del Pino: ]

I say they should landscape the whole nuetral ground on vets all the way through to the parish line kinda like canal street with the palm trees

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:53 Ryan Del Pino

12:53

[Comment From nola architectnola architect: ]

LOL @ serra. I agree, that would cause too many heart attacks. I've read a few of his interviews and he is quite arrogant.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:53 nola architect

12:53

[Comment From Ryan Del PinoRyan Del Pino: ]

with all the grafity around town I doubt they will stay the original color

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:53 Ryan Del Pino

12:55

[Comment From curiouscurious: ]

Why not just stick with trees. So many were lost in the storm, and there have been so many failed attempts at creating a tree canopy along Vets. Doug, what's your take on trees vs. art?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:55 curious

12:55

I would not have liked to see them cut down a stand of trees on Vets to install art. Did they? I doubt it. In fact it looks like they planted saplings around the sculptures, so maybe eventually you'll have sculpture AND trees.

Honestly, i'ts hard to debate trees in a sea of concrete, you know.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:55

12:56

[Comment From crystalcrystal: ]

There are tons of new trees in the same neutral ground with the art.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:56 crystal

12:56

[Comment From crystalcrystal: ]

The first seems a little disjointed from the other two . They are nice though.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:56 crystal

12:57

[Comment From crystalcrystal: ]

I find it very interestin that thirty years seperates the three sculptures

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:57 crystal

12:57

[Comment From Ryan Del PinoRyan Del Pino: ]

thank goodness for that.. i think people will be paying too much attention to the art and then run the red light and the camera will get ya.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:57 Ryan Del Pino

12:57

[Comment From crystalcrystal: ]

what's the plan for the base of them. Plain or landscaped?

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:57 crystal

12:58

[Comment From JamesJames: ]

You mean I have to look at something other than grey deadness while I drive down Vets? It's unthinkable. I'll have to change my route.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:58 James

12:58

Just don't look in the middle. Look to the sides. You'll be fine.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:58

12:59

[Comment From neighborhood residentneighborhood resident: ]

Let's see how long it takes before someoe defaces them with spray paint

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59 neighborhood resident

12:59

[Comment From neighborhood residentneighborhood resident: ]

wait until someone spray paints graffitti on it

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59 neighborhood resident

12:59

Always a risk, but luckily New Orleans isn't too much of a graffiti town. Graffiti started boring me in about 1989 -- it's sooooo passe.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59

12:59

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]

What an eyesore! One really has to stretch the imagination to consider it art.

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59 Guest

12:59

[Comment From catmancatman: ]

Someone asked what was there before the art was installed - absolutely NOTHING was there. Just a plain bed of grass and weeds. James - good one!

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59 catman

12:59

[Comment From ADHADH: ]

The two sculptures at Vets and I-10 and Vets and Bonnabel are a site for sore eyes. We thought it was going to be a water feature. Not a sculpture!!

Thursday April 3, 2008 12:59 ADH

1:00

[Comment From crystalcrystal: ]

12:59. One must have an imagination... yes

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:00 crystal

1:01

[Comment From davedave: ]

i like to watch public exhibitions slowly rust & decay.... assuming that they don't become a danger to anything... although the paint job does bring to mind a 'gilded lily' or sorts

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:01 dave

1:01

[Comment From lolololo: ]

What do you think of the decision to paint the pieces, Doug? I like the colorful paint, but what does that mean to the art itself from a theory standpoint?

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:01 lolo

1:01

Color can occasionally defeat shape, but not this time.

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:01

1:01

[Comment From davedave: ]

i like graph art still, it's the tagging that blows IMHO

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:01 dave

1:02

[Comment From nola architectnola architect: ]

Is the Gold Core Ten steel?

Thursday April 3, 2008 1:02 nola architect