It's Aquatic. It's Epic. But Is It Real Art?

A proposal to build a landmark piece of sculpture sparks a debate over artistic taste and the city's identity.

1 minute read

October 4, 2003, 5:00 AM PDT

"Words like 'hackneyed,' 'clichéd,' and 'irrelevant' are just the beginning. The fountain is an 'artistic embarrassment' and a 'kitschy retread of Soviet-style socialist realism,"' complains a coalition of big shots from the arts community in a letter to the San Diego Union-Tribune... But a funny thing happened on the way to the scrapheap of rejected public art projects. Many members of the public -- along with a coalition of enthusiastic city boosters -- actually like the thing."

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: It's aquatic. It's epic. But is it real art?

Tuesday, September 30, 2003 in The Christian Science Monitor

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