Saturday, March 03, 2007

Public art gone tragically wrong


I was in Columbia, SC today and thought this warranted a photo.
I'm not sure what the committee was thinking when the artist brought the idea to them. Perhaps: " Yeah! We like it! A giant fire hydrant water feature thing! In the middle of a parking lot... makes total sense! Let's do it!"

13 comments:

Dalissa 365 said...

Clearly, it was a committee of men who approved this particular project... hehehe.

Dalissa 365 said...

I think it'd be pretty funny if it was a fountain, too, that squirted water out the top...

my15minutes said...

Oh, but it is! Enlarge it and you'll see the water spraying over it...not from the top though. Strange.

Paula said...

My mind must be in the gutter, my very first impression was not of a fire hydrant. (Blushing with shame!)
On a higher level, the clarity of this photo is incredible. I couldn't believe how crisp it was when I blew it up. That's not something I've acheived consistently.

Dalissa 365 said...

OK, so I'm off to enlarge it and my goodness if it doesn't squirt out the top, I am quite disappointed... why bother going to such effort and then try to truly disguise it as merely only an enlarged fire hydrant.

Dalissa 365 said...

OK, that IS funny. I didn't catch when you said water feature what you meant until you said enlarge the photo... huh?

carrie said...

Well, Paula, my mind was right there in the gutter with you! Bad, bad idea for a "art" project, but a great picture!

SUSAN said...

Oh, my. This is scarey and hysterical!! It's a fire hydrant rocket!!

Susan

RedGypsie said...

Quite phallic. Reminds me of a Salvador Dali painting. If I came upon this in the car I'd probably slam on the brakes and stare in disbelief. There simply MUST be a story behind the choosing of thing thing. And where does one find someone to BUILD them a gigantic hydrant?????

Sandie said...

That is just awful on so many levels :) Not only is it a bit to phallic to really be a fire hydrant, why is it leaning over? Why is it silver? And why is it ribbed? Why is the water next to it....unless it is titled and the water is coming out of the bottom is because it got hit by a giant car?

The photo is crystal clear and well composed :)

jo(e) said...

It's ironic how many public art projects are phallic images ... kind of says something about our culture, doesn't it?

Jess said...

It's good for gawking at, and that's about it - wow!

Colleen said...

Omigosh, this is absolutely hilarious. But if I lived or worked within sight of this thing, I wouldn't find it hilarious. I'd be appalled! Ugly doesn't do it justice. And phallic indeed. Maybe I'll send you some of the "eternal bliss balls" that were sold at the co-op deli yesterday ~ yes, they were actually called eternal bliss balls, LOL ~ and you can eat them while perched next to this lovely fountain. Ahem.