Mediocre does not mean that the work of art is necessarily bad, or ill conceived, or poorly executed, though those problems do exist. But rather, mediocre means that the artwork has failed to establish any intellectual, spiritual, emotional, or aesthetic rapport with its viewers. It has not aroused the curiosity or sense of personal ownership with an audience. It has not created meaningfulness to the “public” nor generated any local boosters. — The Poverty of Public Art
I thought about the issues surrounding the purchase of a Jeff Koons sculpture for the outside of the new downtown Sacramento sports arena and a part of me finds it hard to believe that I am set against it. It is quite clear to me that Sacramento needs more Red Rabbits, not fewer, after visiting Chicago and seeing how that eternal city continues to add to its outstanding collection of public art. My conclusion, however, is that Koons’ piece from the Coloring Book series is not the right work for Sacramento —
Take an immediately accessible work like the oversize Balloon Dogs . (Instead of stealing pictures from the Internet, I simply send you to Koons’ own website.) Shiny, colorful and designed to amaze anyone from a child to a tot’s great-grandparents, the metal dogs promote the desire to experience, to touch, to (ugh!) take a selfie. “I was there, I touched it, my fingerprints are on it, I saw it.” For a city without a wealth of public art on the massive scale that inspire immediate interest, a major piece tha