Philadelphia's Most Controversial Public Art
From The Clothespin to The Rocky Statue, these are some of Philadelphia's most talked about works of art.
Philadelphia’s Most Controversial Public Art
Amanda V. Wagner, Art Attack
Philadelphia is known for many things––cheesesteaks, history and all that other great stuff. But one of the city’s most impressive features isn’t nestled in a roll or on the dusty pages of a textbook; it’s in our streets.
Philadelphia is the city with the most murals in the country and, according to The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, it is “the first city in the United States to adopt programs for acquiring and commissioning works of contemporary public art for new development in urban renewal areas,” like the Percent for Art Program.
That’s great and all, but with all this public art floating around, people are bound to have some problems. In this slideshow, you’ll see some of the city’s most controversial and talked about public works of art.
Comments (17)
The Mural Arts Program is now a city funded public nuisance. Like most residents, when I see a mural while driving, it's a reminder to lock my door.— pabloohiggins064- The Mural Arts Program is now a city funded public nuisance. Like most residents, when I see a mural while driving, it's a reminder to lock my door.— pabloohiggins064
- City Murals is an attempt to reign in young felons and wastrels. It also pays for "artists" to support or coordinate this scam.— joedog
- The mural arts program is a joke. Agree it's a public funded nuisance. Graffitti is not art. Painting pictures of partisan and divisive political figures is not inspiring.... do you see any murals in Gladwyne or Radnor. Please stop— stevejones
- I'm an art lover. I have NO problem with murals. I don't like the garbage "music" that's akin to the culture...rap, hip hop, whatever it's called. That garbage is awful. BTW, the clothespin is a phallus, Rizzo is Lenin.
— road515 - You naysayers would have said the same things about the art programs of the 1930's, as part of Roosevelt's New Deal. None of the examples shown are graffiti, except for those murals that have been defaced. And many wall murals are next to empty lots waiting for buildings. They are there to show one way to brighten blocks that the local governments have allowed neglect to ravish over time.— gb
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I think they forgot those naked white family bronze things on Market and it's evil twin on The Parkway next to Fridays. One features the daughter getting an enema. They are disgusting like the Frank Rizzo statue. White agenda at work with most of this trifling looking mess they push on the community as "Aaaaaart".— MS. LOU.- What about Isamu Noguchi's supremely ugly "Bolt of Lightning" near the Ben Franklin Bridge? http://www.artonfile.com/detail.aspx?id=PH-58-04-02— mrbadboy
- The sad thing is, Isamu Noguchi is a great artist. We got one of his worst works. — Thad Lawrence
- @mrbadboy, yeah, that is pretty hideous. As is the metallic papier-mache looking William Penn along Market between 15th and 16th. Glad they hide it.— theodotius
- I've always thought the Love "sculpture" was hokey and stupid. I will never understand why it's so popular. It also obstructs an excellent view of the Parkway.— cloudkitt
- And the base that the Love sculpture sits on could not be more awkward and graceless. With luck the situation will improve when they re-do the park as part of fixing the garage underneath.
And, yeah the Bolt of Lightning is also a badly conceived (and built) sculpture.
The worst sculpture in the city, though, has apparently been removed. It was on the grounds of the Embassy Suites hotel on Logan Circle. There is a plaque in the hotel lobby quoting the New York Times as saying that it was the ugliest sculpture in America (but they did it with much more style). It's worth a trip in to the lobby to read the plaque. Hilarious.— Tatt2 - What's pathetic is that there are about 100 versions of it in cities around the world. The original is in Indianapolis and they don't even care. In Philadelphia it's considered some kind of cultural treasure. — Thad Lawrence
- The clothes pin is what holds our city together.— 2thru
- Meanwhile on the Parkway... The Barnes Museum stole the entire Dr. Albert C. Barnes Art Collection with love and help from: Raymond G. Perelman, The Philadelphia Art Museum, Walter Annenberg, Lincoln University, Fast Eddie Rendell, Pew Charitable Trust, Comcast and others...— APhillyDump
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Art Attack is a partnership with Drexel University and is supported by a grant from the Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge, administered by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
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