I visited my favorite piece of public art in San José today and it still makes me so very happy. It is funny that I so recently got in a fight about this, apparently there are some people with some lingering hurt feelings about this work, even in my circle but I have to say that as an iconic work, it always makes me smile. The artist Robert Graham was treated somewhat poorly in the commissioning of the work so he let his feelings influence the final work as it was presented to San José.
The irony is that this work has had a hugely positive effect on the way that artists are treated in the public art system, and the way the community is engaged.
I have to say too that it is a joy to see kids playing on the turd, and my favorite intervention was a number of years ago when an artist attached some sculpted flies and renamed it “Poo Platter.”
It must be difficult as a person bringing art to the city to see it become a joke, but I am sincere when I look at this and say that I admire the work and the story of how it came to “rest” here. There is no sense looking for a big dog either, but the impact of the work can be seen in tons of public art around San José.
a musing 