While the best art isn't without controversy — just take a look at Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" or "Olympia" by Édouard Manet — some art ruffles feathers for all the wrong reasons — namely, serving as an eyesore in their communities. As long as there has been public art, there has been bad public art, a sentiment several residents across the globe have learned the hard way.
From a turkey that resembles roast beef to a very Freudian 9/11 memorial, here are 17 works of public art that are best described as absolutely terrible.
1
Though meant to commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks, this statue in New Bern, North Carolina seems to laude a big ‘ol ding dong instead.
2
While Inversion: Plus Minus may be meant to mimic the silhouettes of former buildings in Portland, Oregon, the final product has proven divisive, one Redditor describing it as “silly.”
3
Nothing says “peace and love” — and “Brooklyn eyesore” — quite like an 800 gorilla covered in the words for “Friend” in various languages.
4
Though built to commemorate the 2012 Olympics in London, the Anish Kapoor-statue was so despised that local officials later added a working slide to attract visitors.
5
After nearly three decades on display, this statue, which was widely nicknamed “The Toilet” was bulldozed in 2015.
6
This statue, complete with glowing red eyes and an aura of evilness, not only managed to kill its sculpture, but stoke the flames on several conspiracies surrounding Denver International Airport
7
Honoring the Notorious B.I.G. in his hometown of Brooklyn, several skeptics had questions about the sculpture, namely, to quote one redditor “Why’d they turn him into a vending machine?”
8
Depicting a strange creature chowing down on a Fiat Panda, the sculpture — one a local Redditor dubbed a “Forskin [sic] Monster” — was only on display in Atlanta, Georgia for three years before getting removed.
9
Located in Guthrie, Kentucky, this massive Pink Elephant is the elephant in the room … or should we say roadside.
10
You may not have worried about quicksand since elementary school, but the same cannot be said of the man depicted in this Maryland sculpture.
11
When he’s not stalking your car home from the grocery store, Chef Boyardee is posting up in Omaha, Nebraska.
12
First unveiled in 2014, “The Sunbather” rubbed locals in Long Island City the wrong way, garnering comparisons to “pink p—p” and “Gumby’s grandmother,” per one local blog.
13
On display in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Seagull Cinderella boldly asks “what if sea birds had bazongas?”
14
Though this World War II memorial sculpture was completed in 1967, one Redditor had an apt idea about renaming this ‘Star Wars’ -esque monument. “They should just call it what it is,” they wrote. “A contingency plan to escape earth during the apocalypse.”
15
This statue in Hartford, Conneticut looks more like roast beef than a Turkey.
16
This London work may have intended to commemorate Oscar Wilde, but would up paying homage to a nice pasta dinner.
17
While intended to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, this Boston statue sent a different message, one about eating the booty like groceries.
27
This once despised statue stood outside the University of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium and was the brainchild of New York-based sculptor and former UW-Madison alumni, Donald Lipski. What do you see? Footballs or . .
![Depicting a strange creature chowing down on a Fiat Panda, the sculpture — one a local Redditor dubbed a “Forskin [sic] Monster” — was only on display in Atlanta, Georgia for three years before getting removed.](https://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/2024/05/16/051607/87546140/Screenshot 2024-05-16 at 4.08.34 PM.png)
