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Ugly Public Art

From: Richard Paul
Length: 13:29

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So many of us hate it, but we have to walk past it everyday Read the full description.

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Playing: Ugly Public Art
From: Richard Paul

Darkstar2 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is a story about perhaps the most subject topic there is -- art. Specifically public art in Rosslyn, the neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia that abuts Georgetown. When this piece first aired on WAMU's Metro Connection, it received more phone calls than any story to that time. Listeners, by more than a 2-to-1 margin agreed with the sentiments expressed in the piece that the art in question is ugly or inscrutable or both.

Ugly Public Art | 13:29

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Piece Description

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is a story about perhaps the most subject topic there is -- art. Specifically public art in Rosslyn, the neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia that abuts Georgetown. When this piece first aired on WAMU's Metro Connection, it received more phone calls than any story to that time. Listeners, by more than a 2-to-1 margin agreed with the sentiments expressed in the piece that the art in question is ugly or inscrutable or both.

2 Comments

Chris Hand

Posted on June 03, 2005 at 10:38 AM | Permalink

Review of Ugly Public Art

Howdy!

Very nicely and witty piece done in an everyman style. I wish that there was more of this type of work available on radio.

Dheera Sujan

Posted on November 11, 2004 at 05:57 AM | Permalink

Review of Ugly Public Art

This piece clips along at a good brisk pace and the presenter has an easy listenable manner.
I did feel though that for the first 4-5 minutes of this piece I really wanted to know what the art being so maligned actually looked like. When the descriptions finally came, they were still a bit thin to connect into a picture in the head of at least this listener.
However, as I listened, I started to think about the public art I’ve seen in the United States and in Europe where I live and tried to think of pieces I liked and those I didn’t, and then tried to figure out why. So in that respect I think the radio piece worked in making one think about something that for many of us has just become public wallpaper.
And I admit I missed hearing from an artist who builds these things about his/her motivation, and wondered what their reaction would have been if Richard Paul had told them the general results of his vox pops.