"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall!"

Behold, The "Stanford Wall" (Josef Albers, 1980). This used to be by Engineering, but even they found it "the least interesting piece of sculpture ever created."*

So bad is this wall of "art", that Stanford found a place for it... in a field... with no real access... or where anyone might have to look at it. It's as if someone said, "Put it where no one can see it, but don't look like you're putting it where no one can see it."

Shiny side... I used to draw boxes like that when I was 8.
Why? Seriously, what's the point here?

Non-Shiny Side: makes you want to check out the shiny side again, doesn't it?

Alone... and far, far away
sadly not far enough away that I don't have to see it

*Actually, that's my review, but you know it's true.

Bank Art

Banks have a sacred place in the world of bad art. Boring. Uninteresting on a level that is almost unsurpassable... Worse, they often think they are being daring or innovative--and they usually aren't.

A classic example, is this attempt in Castro Valley. I've passed it dozens of times and never noticed it. And then I did.


Not sure if this is part of the sculpture, or if this is someone's attempt at a repair... Maybe it was a fountain at one point--if it was, they lost something interesting, I think the water would have been interesting against the texture. But now, it just looks like shit...

Mall Terror II

couldn't quite get this whole thing into frame... it shoots WAY up to the top of the second level. You're not missing much...

This is newer art at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA. Will they never learn...?

A Showering Shame

Tucked between the Green and Meyer Libraries on the Stanford University campus. Any other color and this "water feature" would go primarily unnoticed.

They keep refusing my offer to go to Home Depot and pick up some black paint...

Mall Terror

I'm not sure who the artist is, but "art" like this was shoved into the huge indoor malls of the 1970's. Many discarded them after being remodeled in the 1980's. This one remains at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasonton, CA.

Eastridge Mall in San Jose had several similar pieces... they gave them to the City of San Jose, who, instead of shoving them in some crappy warehouse, decided to put them up in downtown San Jose. One is still there, outside the Hotel DeAnza. Dull art like this pretty much goes unnoticed by most.

Space Lace

Space Lace, 1997
by Linda Fleming
Stanford Campus

May she rust quickly... oh, so quickly.

"...we have a problem."

"Plumed Serpent"

Public art is such a tricky thing. Art is usually commissioned by a committee. This is a very dangerous. Committee Art is the result of everyone feeling the need to give their input putting government entities and institutions to do everything they can not to "offend" people. The result is generally bland, dull and--most often--ugly art. No one is challenged; everyone is bored.

In the case above, it's a bit of the above as well as being flat out cheap. The Robert Graham-designed piece was commissioned by the City of San Jose to show the harmony and diversity of its citizens. Originally, the piece was larger, multi-colored, with wings.

Then the city found out how much it would cost. They asked Graham to go back and make it cheaper. This is the result:

Dull beyond belief. Strange lines from the mold and two shades that make no sense. My favorite time to see this is at night when it is wet just after a bit of rain. The water begins to steam off the ground lights and it looks exactly what it truly is: a steaming pile of shit.

This website is dedicated to finding all those bad sculptures and 'artistic' touches that cities and companies force upon us so we think we are living in a society where we are surrounded by culture. Instead, we are surrounded by idiots and the crappy art they force upon us.