Nov. 15, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
The controversial pink sculpture that has been promised for the last two years was finally installed on Jackson Avenue over the weekend.
“The Sunbather,” a 4,000-pound bronze sculpture by the artist Ohad Meromi, was widely criticized for its bright pink color and half million-dollar price tag when it was announced. It has now found its permanent home at the intersection of Jackson Avenue and 43rd Avenue.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer was a proponent of the sculpture from the beginning, saying he will always support more public art, though he has remained more tight-lipped about his own thoughts on the design throughout the process.
“I believe in public art and I know that some people will love it and I know that some people will hate it, I think that’s art,” Van Bramer said.
“Having seen it up close and personal I certainly appreciate it more, I think it’s really interesting,” he added on his personal feelings about the piece. “I think it’s an important piece, a worthwhile piece, and a very interesting piece. I think it may grow on some people and some people will hate it forever, but I want to defend artists and I want to defend the artistic process.”
He added that he had already heard from several constituents who feel strongly that the piece is ugly and should be removed, but said that it is important to keep the fact that it is public art in perspective.
“I don’t want to downplay people’s feelings about it but I just want to say that the world has a lot of very serious things going on right now, the world changed for all of us last Tuesday, a lot of people are dealing with really life threatening, life altering moments,” Van Bramer said. “Let’s keep things in perspective, it’s not the end of the world it’s a public art piece, its one artists vision, and you know the thing is if you don’t like art or you think something is ugly, then you don’t have to look at it.”
The hostility towards the art piece dates back to its inception, when the community was kept in the dark during the early stages of planning for the sculpture. When the design and cost became public in November of 2014, the sculpture met mixed reactions from various community members.
“What a huge waste of money for this ugly piece of pink poop,” wrote one commenter on the LIC Post, echoing many similar concerns from others.
“I find the sculpture to be ugly and an inappropriate use of public money. It’s also indicative of an elitist culture which is very much in evidence at times in LIC. Time and time again Queens based artists are passed over and funds are given to artists from outside the borough,” another commenter wrote, pointing to another common complaint that the artist, Ohad Meromi, is from Brooklyn, and is not a locally based artist.
Some commenters were favorable towards the project, however, and used it to point to other issues in the LIC community.
“This is great! But face it, the yuppies who would be annoyed by this sticky pink bubblegum creature never go this far west,” one wrote.
“I don’t mind the sculpture. Probably temporary. It’s certainly getting everyone talking. What I find more offensive and disgusting are the luxury condos in LIC,” another commenter added.
