# Tackiest Garden Ornament Ever!



## ogecko (Aug 13, 2007)

This gets my vote for the tackiest garden ornament of all time. It’s actually supposed to be “art,” but I find it to be tasteless and disruptive. The artist (Dale Chichuly) states: “My forms are made in a very natural way so they look like they come from nature,” which I find difficult to believe. The good news is that in summer it’s less obscene because there’s more vegetation in the garden and it doesn’t stand out quite as much!

For anyone who would like to view this monstrosity in person, it may be found in the National Garden adjacent to the USBG Conservatory on The Mall in Washington D.C.. The National Garden is pleasant if unspectacular and rather boring, but it doesn’t deserve the ‘Sunset Boat’!


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## gore42 (Aug 13, 2007)

Imagine how much fun it would be with a slingshot and a pile of rocks, though. Maybe a neighborhood kid will get the idea....

- Matt


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## Grandma M (Aug 13, 2007)

UGH. How ugly. I guess I don't appreciate that kind of art. To each his own.


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## Marco (Aug 13, 2007)

i dont think its ugly...i just think its really out of place....


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## kentuckiense (Aug 13, 2007)

I think a lot of Chihuly's botanic garden work is fantastic... But this? Setting it all in a boat?


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## Jon in SW Ohio (Aug 13, 2007)

I gotta admit, I'm a HUGE Chihuly fan...but this I'm not so fond of. Here's a better example of what his work is like:












Jon


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## Heather (Aug 13, 2007)

I too like Chihuly, but not this one.

Love that second one in your post, Jon.


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## DukeBoxer (Aug 13, 2007)

Is he the guy that made that HUGE thing in the middle of Mohegan Sun Casino? Anyone???


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## SlipperFan (Aug 13, 2007)

Chihuly is a world-reknown artist who's media is blown glass. He is known for "pushing the envelope" for what is possible in this media. Whether one's personal taste concurs with his works or not, if one understands his media and sees what he can accomplish with it, one can appreciate his artistry.

I do not believe "art is in the eye of the beholder." Art is art, what is in the eye of the beholder is appreciation and understanding, or the lack of it.


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## ohio-guy (Aug 13, 2007)

I think his works cost tens of thousands of dollars as well....I bet the boat display could sell for $100,000.00 if it were for sale. 
But I agree with Jon, it is not one of the best he has done.


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## Rick (Aug 13, 2007)

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the biggest thing in the whole pond. It really overpowers the live plantings.


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## Jon in SW Ohio (Aug 13, 2007)

Some more, and yes his pieces go for BIG money:


































Jon


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## gore42 (Aug 13, 2007)

I used to live just a couple of miles away from the Pilchuck studio/school up in WA. As a result, we were constantly bombarded with Chihuly stuff in the local newspapers and galleries (even the Everett Navy base, Sea-Tac airport, etc display pieces of his work all over). There is no doubt that the guy is a master. I quite like a lot of his work. That doesn't mean that everything he does is masterful, or even good. Even Beethoven wrote some really awful music. 

That said, I think that it's quite possible to understand the artistry, skill, and talent of an artist of any sort, and still not like their work. 

- Matt


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## Ron-NY (Aug 13, 2007)

DukeBoxer said:


> Is he the guy that made that HUGE thing in the middle of Mohegan Sun Casino? Anyone???


I believe the blue and white sculpture there is his


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## rdlsreno (Aug 14, 2007)

I like it!!!

Ramon


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## smartie2000 (Aug 14, 2007)

I definitely like his other works better when compared to the boat. The boat just looks awkward


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## Heather (Aug 14, 2007)

Yes, Ron, I think so. Also has quite a bit at Bellagio in Las Vegas if I remember correctly.


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## NYEric (Aug 14, 2007)

SlipperFan said:


> I do not believe "art is in the eye of the beholder." Art is art, what is in the eye of the beholder is appreciation and understanding, or the lack of it.



Oh no, here we go again.


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## Hien (Aug 14, 2007)

He is quite famous. I seen a documentary about his work on PBS.
They looks a lot better than zillions other modern art stuff (which I have a suspicion that those artists can not really draw or paint like the old masters).
Some of his work do look very nice (sorry for my common person art language)
I just hope nobody trip & fall on those sharp & pointed glass reeds.


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## Mark (Aug 14, 2007)

gore42 said:


> That doesn't mean that everything he does is masterful, or even good. Even Beethoven wrote some really awful music.
> 
> That said, I think that it's quite possible to understand the artistry, skill, and talent of an artist of any sort, and still not like their work.



I agree. Our big basketball/hockey/concert building features a work similar to the boat, but it's the same conglomeration of forms all along the wall over the entrance doors. Decorative in its own ugly way but the colors are going to look dated very quickly. I believe he's an alum of the glass program here and probably part of the reason it's so popular and hard to get into. 

It was, however, surpassed as the ugliest art on campus by this load of crap.


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## Hien (Aug 14, 2007)

Mark said:


> I agree. Our big basketball/hockey/concert building features a work similar to the boat, but it's the same conglomeration of forms all along the wall over the entrance doors. Decorative in its own ugly way but the colors are going to look dated very quickly. I believe he's an alum of the glass program here and probably part of the reason it's so popular and hard to get into.
> 
> It was, however, surpassed as the ugliest art on campus by this load of crap.



Mark,

I am astounding over the audacity of whoever this "artist" is.
Is this on the campus? 
To think of the torture, one puts on the souls of all the peoples who have to look at it days after days. Bad , very, very bad Fengshui.
It looks like something produced from the backdoor of some alien species.


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## goldenrose (Aug 14, 2007)

What is it/is it suppose to be? Oh - I get it - "UNFINISHED _________ ".
I think aliens would come up with something better than that!


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## Mark (Aug 14, 2007)

It's by the stadium. It's a pile of footballs emerging from the classical obelisk. What's more, it's resin, not stone and has an un-natural glossy finish. The kinder critics have compared it to an ear of corn. The less kind, well, let's just say it's a funny coincidence that there are a few fraternity houses on the same street. Many thousands of people see this on game days. I'm glad I commute the other direction and only have to drive past it on Saturdays.:arrr:


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## Scooby5757 (Aug 14, 2007)

Mark said:


> I agree. Our big basketball/hockey/concert building features a work similar to the boat, but it's the same conglomeration of forms all along the wall over the entrance doors. Decorative in its own ugly way but the colors are going to look dated very quickly. I believe he's an alum of the glass program here and probably part of the reason it's so popular and hard to get into.
> 
> It was, however, surpassed as the ugliest art on campus by this load of crap.



Eeek!


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## rdlsreno (Aug 15, 2007)

Crazy!

Ramon


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## NYEric (Aug 15, 2007)

I think it is an excellent commentary on the situation that graduates will find themselves in upon passage into the professional realm.


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## Leo Schordje (Aug 15, 2007)

"Bad Taste, sufficiently extreem, is indistinguishable from Art." 

From Robert A Heinlein - the "Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag"


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## ogecko (Aug 16, 2007)

Chihuly's work is MUCH better than whatever that obelisk thing is, but I still find it to be out of place and disruptive within the connect of a garden setting. However, I would think that it would be perfect in a casino!


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## streetmorrisart (Aug 19, 2007)

His work was here at the Missouri Botanical Gardens pretty recently. I kept thinking I’d have enjoyed a lot of the pieces more away from what I was most there to see. They worked awfully hard to get members to contribute to purchasing a couple of them. They didn’t keep my favorite one, which was entirely bright red and hung beneath the Japanese bridge away from the foliage. Selfishly I was happy to see the exhibit go after many months because it got tiring paying extra to go into the Climatron which is normally free for me. (Since we don’t have a house, that whole place is essentially my favorite backyard!) What they did keep of his works nicely with the plantings. I’ve got to say though, it's kind of a shame that some of the most amazing glass artists will never be known to the same, Thomas Kinkade-esque extent in this country as Chihuly—I’d take a signed Goran Warff or Tapio Wirkkala piece over one of his any day, but that’s my personal preference. 

And the various ways one could debate “what is art?” are obviously endless—years of hearing and reading it discussed by people who create it, people who buy it for various reasons, people who teach it, create it AND teach it, study “at it” a little and parrot widely-accepted theories about it... There’s no real need for a defined answer to said question.


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## ogecko (Feb 10, 2008)

Here's a view of the Nationa Garden pond in winter - an improvement?
I wonder what they do with the boat in winter???


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## Corbin (Feb 11, 2008)

Jon in SW Ohio said:


> I gotta admit, I'm a HUGE Chihuly fan...but this I'm not so fond of. Here's a better example of what his work is like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



In the Columbus conservatory and one which I like very much but this is the best I think. It was also in the columbus conservatory last year but was not there this year as they did not purchase it. 






This one is in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens






As you can tell I am a fan but I must say the boat thing is the worst I've seen of his.


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## TheLorax (Feb 11, 2008)

> That said, I think that it's quite possible to understand the artistry, skill, and talent of an artist of any sort, and still not like their work.


 I'm going to have to agree. 

I first saw his works at Fairchild Gardens I believe. To me, they detracted from the settings in which they were placed and I found them to be agitating. 

I'd hang one of streetmorrisart's paintings up on any of my walls in a heart beat and I can assure you any metal sculpture created by gondenrose's husband would be placed in a prominent position in our home but Chihuly's works I'd sell off without batting an eye to be able to go buy art that was easier on my eye.


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## streetmorrisart (Feb 12, 2008)

That’s very flattering, thank you! (I suspect I create a lot of art you would NOT hang on your walls, but that’s o.k…it’s on my web site and would be largely out of context here.) 

I thought this again this past weekend when I was at the gardens, Chihuly’s sculptures are pretty nice as accents. I still say the whole exhibit was overwhelming when it came to town, but a few nestled in are quite nice—they’re kind of like Future Sound of London’s Lifeforms album visualized.


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## TheLorax (Feb 12, 2008)

> I suspect I create a lot of art you would NOT hang on your walls, but that’s o.k…it’s on my web site and would be largely out of context here.


 Wrong! I've been to your website and I loved your abstracts and I'd certainly find wall space for anything you've got there. You know, send one to me so I can prove it to you. Your pick :drool:, they're all great.


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## streetmorrisart (Feb 13, 2008)

Thankfully there are three less as of today (wipes sweat sway from brow over tax bill). That’s actually really nice to know though; sometimes I wonder about the people who completely eschew one facet of my work and like another, but still feel the need to be derogatory about the rest--not to be confused with having a preference for one which is completely reasonable and respectful.


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## TheLorax (Feb 14, 2008)

I do have preferences it's just that the overall style of your work appeals to me very much while the overall style of Chihuly's works doesn't do anything for me other than leave me scratching my head wondering what these big eyesores are doing smack dab in the middle of peaceful and tranquil gardens. I suppose they wouldn't be so bad if they were smaller and therefore less of an assault on one's senses or possibly functional like a birdbath but they just sort of jump out at you in these very unnatural colors and forms and I personally find them to be out of place in garden settings. Bad art is just bad art.


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