I find it interesting. It really stands out as you approach from the south. I like the Venet piece but it was kinda hidden where it was sitting. I think St. Louis could benefit from more public art installations. Kansas City set up a system which encourages public art paid for by corporations and has some incredible displays. Other cities, even smaller cities than St. Louis, have great public art. I know there are those who feel the money can be used for better things and I agree. But the right pieces-paid for by private groups/people can really have an great impact. This art needs to be all around the area and not just downtown. I would love to see something unique in Carondelet Park near the new Community Center being built (Off I-55 and Loughborough)

I see a piece like this and wonder how much of my tax money was spent on an enlarged replica of a pile of pick up stix. How can you call what amounts to a bunch of 2 by 4s heaped in a pile sculpture? The statue of David is sculture. The monoliths on Easter Island are sculpture. I have seen exact replicas of this hunk of junk in dumpsters at new home builds.

LOL @ b’s comments…

While I often do not understand the “message” behind a lot of these things, it is better to see one than nothing at all on an empty lot. And as long as tax dollars aren’t paying for sculptures of David or Pick-Up Sticks I don’t mind the attempt at expression.

If I have any problem with them at all it is the placement of them near busy intersections where people are tempted to look at it rather than the road…

nothing livens the place more than weird shaped things around the city. I like the red color. The other weird shaped thing was cool too. That is my official art review.

Dear God we already have some one telling us what is or is not art, and he mentions the David as a comparison. Sorry but the David is a masterpiece which there are not that many of. Hey Mr. B- are you an art critic? or are you one of those that slams the use of your “PRECIOUS TAX DOLLARS” (add as many exclamation points as you feel is necessary) and really want to complain about that instead? Not all pieces of art are masterpieces by far, and to say that all art has to be like your 2 examples is so short sided it is sick. The Gateway Arch would not have been thought of or built if we follow Mr. B’s example. Art comes in many, many forms. It is not up to the individual to give the rest of us rules on what art should be, it is up to the artists to present them and see how they are accepted. This piece was accepted, and it sits on what would be an empty grass lot. Can anyone out there that is familiar with this interchange and neighborhood really picture a copy of the David or an easter island statue on that plot and having it not look like a theme park???

John Henry is a joke in terms of message and meaning.

He’s more of a, “here’s some eye candy,” type artist.

Compared to more concrete, pointed art, it’s a type that certainly can be less interesting, and it certainly doesn’t age as well. But it’s something nobody can call offensive. And that’s why it’s used as public art, paid for by the government. It’s accessible to anyone, even kids and conservatives. I don’t like it. I don’t admire it. But it is art, and it fills a need. You have to remember, a lot of great art is too controversial when it’s created to be put on public display. The John Henry’s of the world keep a mainstream audience aware enough of art that better art can have a chance to pop it’s head up every now and then. Like I said. I don’t like it, but it fills a need.

Who moved the Serra sculpture and put it on streoids?

Having people translate a different language and NOT knowing it surely isn’t viable. One must know the language, i.e. the language of art in order to comment on it’s purpose in our culture.

Comparing a modern sculpture to Michaelangelo’s David certainly is the apples and oranges comparison.

What we have here in this new sculpture is amazingly spectacular in its placement in the environment. It separates us from the commonplace.

I have not seen the new sculpture in person yet, but even when looking at the Venet piece that previously occupied the spot, I was always glad that St. Louis was spicing up the city’s vista with works of art. I liked the Venet piece, but I thought it was difficult to see at that location. As for the new piece, I love the bright color and the scale, and I think it will prove to be challenging and cheerful visual exclamation point in that beautiful neighborhood. I also find the name of the sculpture very appealing and appropriate for St. Louis. “Treemonisha” was the first “Black Opera”, and it was composed by our own beloved Scott Joplin. It told the story of education and knowledge triumphing over ignorance and superstition. In case anyone is interested in the story of “Treemnisha,” here is a summary from Wikipedia:
“Treemonisha takes place in September 1884 on a plantation between Texarkana and the red River in Arkansas. Treemonisha is a young, educated black woman who refuses to accept the superstitions of the community. When the local conjurers try to sell Treemonisha’s adoptive mother a “bag of luck”, she denounces the conjurers, who retaliate by kidnapping her, and attempt to throw her into a wasp nest. Her beau, Remus, rescues her at the last moment and they return to the community. Accepted by her peers, she leads a campaign to educate the people around her.”

As it often happens with public art, many will undoubtedly have a strong “reaction” to this piece initially, but I suspect that over time, we will all come to love it and will have a hard time imagining our city without it. As for me, I think the sculpture is a beautiful tribute to our rich African American heritage, and I’m glad they are spending a bit of my tax money on something that is thought-provoking and aspires to more than mere utilitarianism.

“John Henry Was A Steel Driving Man”…or was it a “Steel Piling Man?” One thing he is for sure is a man laughing all the way to the bank. We sometimes untangled a pile of structural steel that fell off a broken trailer that looked like that but we straightened it up and reloaded it on a new trailer. We sure as hell didn’t weld it together and call it art.