There are about 8 of these and they are pretty neat. Computer designed and made to look like warped and blowing in the Lake Erie winds:

On Mall C:

I think Cleveland Public Art has done a great job of selecting works that appeal to most people without picking safe or bland works.

The pics above are a good example.

Here is the contriversal, Gateway to Hamilton:

 

Free Stamp

 

 

 

I like it!

Yeah, the "FREE" stamp is great! What is the story behind it?

The Free Stamp is a work by Claes Oldenburg that was commissioned by BP in the late 1980s. It was originally supposed to be placed on the plaza in front of the BP Building facing Public Square, across from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It was also to have been designed standing upright (with the "Free" facing down) and to have been substantially taller than it is now.

 

The corporate board at BP took one look at it and didn't like the idea - they said they didn't want to be represented by a "rubber stamp" (implying they were an ineffective board). So they donated the commission to the city of Cleveland, who then designated it to be placed in Willard Park, at the corner of East 9th and Lakeside (where it is today). Oldenburg re-designed it to resemble how it would look had it literally been "tossed aside" from the BP Building. Oldenburg had a way of making his feelings known about BP's rejection - he made sure that the "FREE" was visible from the executive offices of the BP Building.  :lol:

 

 

Ha, good tale.

didnt the city buy the free stamp for like a dollar or something??

Good story! Come on guys, there has to be more city art than this!

 

Great thread!

zaceman, you're correct - it was basically a goodwill donation from BP to the city.

 

Here's another piece of significant public art in Cleveland. This is "Portal" by Isamu Noguchi, created in 1976 and stands in front of the Justice Center along Ontario:

 

It's considered one of Noguchi's better works - mainly because the viewer can look "at" it, or "through" it (i.e. standing next to it and seeing how the piece "frames" your surroundings).

 

One of the most well known public artworks in Cleveland - the illuminated bridges in the Flats (I believe there are six that have been lit):

 

 

Other public art in Cleveland (images from clevelandpublicart.org):

Nancy Dwyer's "Who's On First?" and "Meet Me Here" in the Gateway sports complex:

 

A temporary installation of Louise Bourgeois' spider sculptures in 2002:

wow i wish they would have been able to keep the spiders up permanently i dig'em. they are expanding the already massive new dia museum in beacon, new york in part to support louise bourgeois' tall works.

 

i also wish the cma had a huge warehouse annex for massive works like that (and like richard serra's monumental steel works). that would be an awesome publicity grabbing investment. fyi below is a typical serra in the bilbao guggenheim:

 

 

Ugh - just ask the folks in St. Louis how THEY feel about Richard Serra and the effect one of his pieces has on a major plot of downtown real estate. Yes, they're interesting but they don't belong in the public realm (but in a warehouse annex setting they're appropriately dramatic).

“Symmes Monument” in Symmes Park on Third Street in Downtown Hamilton commemorates Captain John Cleves Symmes and his “Hollow Earth Theory”. 

And the topper, George Bush will remain in Hamilton forever

wait isnt the expansion of the art museum essentially adding in a space that can display large work by putting a ceiling over the courtyard...?

Ugh - just ask the folks in St. Louis how THEY feel about Richard Serra and the effect one of his pieces has on a major plot of downtown real estate. Yes, they're interesting but they don't belong in the public realm (but in a warehouse annex setting they're appropriately dramatic).

 

yes his work is best seen in galleries, museums, warehouse annexes & parks. i cannot imagine it stuck downtown, is that what they did?  what were they thinking? a lot of large works like that may not fly in the streets in the heart of the city, but particularly serra's.

 

otoh, it would be nice to have some giant serras outside along the towpath trail park into downtown someday, very post-industrially appropriate i'd say.

 

i'm not sure if the cma expansion will be large enough to show these kinds of things on site of the main museum. giant-sized multiples are another issue too -- ie., donald judd:

 

 

 

Basically it's the equivalent of Mall A or B in downtown St. Louis. It's been used by the homeless and criminals to screen their activities. Scroll down to "Twain" and you'll see why it's held in such high disdain:

 

http://www.art-stl.com/PublicArt.cfm?where=Downtown+St.+Louis

WOW, a hollow earth and a hollow head statues both in Hamilton.

Ugh - just ask the folks in St. Louis how THEY feel about Richard Serra and the effect one of his pieces has on a major plot of downtown real estate. Yes, they're interesting but they don't belong in the public realm (but in a warehouse annex setting they're appropriately dramatic).

 

You mean this piece of shit?  This is by far the worst example of Art I have seen on public display in a city:

 

 

I personally love that it has been defaced many times with graffiti expressing desire to have it removed. 

wow thanks for the photo. lol -- that serra is terribly placed! it's supposed to be minimalism so as i say they belong in a field or empty gallery -- like that shot of the cooler curvey ones in the bilbao goog. i've never seen them like that in the middle of town. what were they thinking?

 

a guy i know works with the steel plant that makes them in seoul, korea. thats's right, it's cheaper to fabricate them there and ship them back to the usa than just make it here. can you believe it? i guess that's an example of why the usa steel industry has all but died.

 

another friend of mine in brooklyn lives across the street from where they make the giant metal robert indiana 'love' sculptures from the 1970's too. they still crank those out all the time. anyone know if there is one outdoors around ohio somewhere?

speaking of bad, do they still have those terrible 1990's cancer survivor memorial sculptures up all over the place? one was put up on lane & olentangy in columbus; lots of them put up all at once around the country. what the heck was that sponsor thinking? pure queso. they shoulda just donated to american cancer society or research instead:

 

Thanks for the all the photos of works in downtown Cleveland MayDay.  I haven't spent much time in Cleveland, so I've not seen a lot of them.  The Flat's bridge piece is really cool.

Middletown has some interesting works on the its Miami University campus.  I'll have to take a couple of pics next time I'm in town. 

 

Until then, here is the piece of public art located at the University's entrance off of Breiel.  It's called Guardians of the Path by Robert Gaston

 

Sorry about the quality of the pic...I found it on a web site:

 

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/01038.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

“Symmes Monument” in Symmes Park on Third Street in Downtown Hamilton commemorates Captain John Cleves Symmes and his “Hollow Earth Theory”. 

Looks like a big Cheerio ;-p

Symmes Monument in Symmes Park on Third Street in Downtown Hamilton commemorates Captain John Cleves Symmes and his Hollow Earth Theory. 

Looks like a big Cheerio ;-p

 

You might live on that Cherrio if Symmns is right!

At first, I thought it was a monument to donuts.  I would erect a monument to donuts, if it were up to me.

In addition to the artwork at its entrance (show above in b&w), Miami University Middletown is also home to serveral other pieces:

 

The Big Red Bird (at the entrance of the nature trail)

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures020.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

Light Rapid (near Levey Hall--newest piece on campus)  I think it is ugly

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures018.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

Sylink

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures019.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

Don't remember the name of this piece located outside of Dave Finkleman Auditorium...it is a water sculpture

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures022.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

There is one other piece that I couldn't find

 

Middletown's newest piece of public art is the Veteran's Memorial located in Woodside Cemetery.

 

The large black granite wall bears the names of Middletown Veternans.  Mort Kuntsler, a renowed civil war artist donated existing artwork and new designs to be included on the wall. 

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures024.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

Once of the memorial markers

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures025.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

Up-close detail of artwork

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/SouthMainandSculptures026.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

 

Anyone have a picture of the ears of corn up Columbus way in Dublin?

Hamilton has a ton of great works (hence the name city of sculpture).  Where are they.....if I had some of the shots I would post them but I don't get out to Hamilton enough........so come on those of you from Hamilton and do your city proud.

Okay I'll try to get some more, but they have pics for many of them at:

 

http://cityofsculpture.org/sculpture.html

 

More can be seen at Pyramid Hill's website:

 

http://www.pyramidhill.org/gallery.php

Hamilton is getting another oddball.

 

When in Rains It Pours. This bronze water sculpture by Miles Metzger is to be placed on Main Street at the new Armstead Park where other features in the park will be a bandstand, park benches, donated trees and a memorial to the late Roy Bond, former businessman and president of the Main Street Area Association.

 

 

What do you think of this one? I'm not too sure if I like it with his hand out like that.

 

I like it... kid runs it to it though and it could take an eye out!

I don't know what to think of this monstrosity:

 

Hamilton's newest

 

oh those hoses add a nice touch!

In general I do not like most of Hamilton's broze statues of various people, Bush or those painted people by the Fitton center in particular, but my favorite sculpture is "Lentil and His Dog Harmony" by Nancy Schon who did the "Make Way For Ducklings" sculpture in Boston.  Robert McCloskey, the author of Lentil, is from Hamilton and did the carvings on the old Municipal Building.  Now I am not thrilled that the park the sculpture is in was once an old movie theatre and courthouse square continues to erode and is no longer "contained" as a square  . . . but you can't have everything in this world I guess . . .

 

 

One of my all time favorite sculptures in Boston . . .