Maybe the Paul Bunyan statue can kill it and eat it
Tri-Met has come up with the perfect art work for one of the stations for the Mystery Train to Milwaukie. I kid you not, here it is:
If the $1.5 billion* of public money that's being blown on the new MAX line doesn't give you nightmares, that thing surely will.
* - Preliminary liars' budget. The bridge design isn't anywhere close to finished, and the funding is still sketchy, but the Tri-Met crew is rushing ahead with construction, before the public can come to its senses. This is how things go very, very wrong.
| Posted at 7:43 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (38)
When I saw the picture, I thought you were joking, but you really are not. Absolutely frightening. Are they trying to scare children?
Why don't they put something people can relate to. for instance, statues of a character from the Simpsons at each stop. Be kind of fun, friendly, interesting to the general public/tourists, and have a local tie in.
Instead they go with horror.
Posted by Robert | June 30, 2011 7:56 AM
I would like to know why local artists are not being given the opportunity to compete for 'a place of honor' on this project?
Why is an Iranian artist who does not live here being selected?
That THING is worse than the totems in the Pearl.
Posted by portland native | June 30, 2011 8:08 AM
Looks like something a committee of bureaucrats would come up with.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | June 30, 2011 8:15 AM
Remember the Simpsons monorail episode?
Posted by Robert Collins | June 30, 2011 8:19 AM
Hopefully it will be vandalized early and often. What an ugly piece of...
Posted by Dave A. | June 30, 2011 8:24 AM
My art suggestion...a very large toilet with thousand dollar bills being flushed down the drain.
Posted by Evergreen Libertarian | June 30, 2011 8:44 AM
That thing is terrifying.
Posted by Lewis | June 30, 2011 8:45 AM
The entire MAX line is beginning to look like my grandma's attic.
How did we ever elect so many people with such poor taste? State-sponsored art worked well for the Nazis (yes, I've gone ahead and said it!)
Posted by Steve | June 30, 2011 8:46 AM
It looks like a four-legged Budda with horns. Someone call it racist and put a stop to it.
Posted by Pom Mom | June 30, 2011 8:59 AM
It looks like a Bambi/Teletubbies hybrid.
I think a Cinderalla/Courtney Love hybrid would be more appropriate.
Posted by Mister Tee | June 30, 2011 8:59 AM
Am I the only person disturbed by how much this resembles the forest god from the movie "Princess Mononoke"? (As for why this is going in, never assume that having lots of money leads to a corresponding increase in artistic taste. Come to Dallas and view all of the horrible artwork "donated" to the city by our various robber barons. Nine times out of then, the donation comes with severe strings, usually involving nice quiet contributions to a particular city politician's campaign fund or matching funds for a particularly slick piece of political pork. It might be time to see if the "artist" of this monstrosity is either a grandchild or a girlfriend/boyfriend of someone in a similar position in Portland, or just someone who wants to get it the hell out of his art investment portfolio.)
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | June 30, 2011 9:00 AM
I am the egg man. I am the walrus.
I am the happy hideous genetic mutation...
Posted by Raph Woods | June 30, 2011 9:06 AM
Looks like an artsy Pacific Rim version of the Jagermeister logo:
http://www.jagermeister.com/#/int-en/home
Posted by Rich | June 30, 2011 9:10 AM
Perhaps Trimet got there idea from this: http://bit.ly/m9UUuh and they decided to scale back a little.
Posted by Benjamin Kerensa | June 30, 2011 9:11 AM
It looks like a scary float from Macy's Thanksgiving parade.
Posted by SKA | June 30, 2011 9:21 AM
Only if it's a giant pinata, and we can blast it with pumpkin trebuchets after the ribbon cutting.
Posted by 39er | June 30, 2011 9:43 AM
I f'ing love it (and I'm not joking)!!!It's better than most of what passes for art around these parts. Have you seen what they've 'created' in the (park) for the Couch St. couplet? Have you seen the 'found objects' sculptures in Chinatown? I'm not sure what's going on there at all, but I know it's absolute trash. I think this is modern, fun, creative, and appropriate for this part of the country. You all haters must be the same people that don't ge the Portland building.
Posted by Richard | June 30, 2011 9:52 AM
Oversized, imposing, meaningless. Baby-faced and unself-consciously gratified, mindless of its audience, mindless of its physical menace. I love it. It's the perfect visual representation of overly empowered bureaucratic administrators. The artist has given them a monument to themselves and they must build it. I earnestly love it.
Posted by ep | June 30, 2011 10:06 AM
Why don't we just hang the politicians up by their big toes at all of the plazas? Tell the kids they're just animated piñatas.
Posted by Mojo | June 30, 2011 10:26 AM
Sad thing is that Trimet is supposedly doing another fare hike soon.
Posted by Benjamin Kerensa | June 30, 2011 10:28 AM
A suitable monument for the project because it is so hideous.
Posted by dg | June 30, 2011 11:27 AM
Sure is breathtaking...
Posted by Christian | June 30, 2011 11:39 AM
Sure fits right in, with all being done around here for the children.
Posted by clinamen | June 30, 2011 11:43 AM
It reminds me of the horrible "mascots" countries create for the Olympics.
Posted by laurelann | June 30, 2011 1:04 PM
When I first glanced at that giant stag monster, I thought it had a butt face. Apropos. They should just stuff it with $1,000 bills and set it on fire -- a new Portlandia festival could be born: "Burning Scam"!
Posted by Mojo | June 30, 2011 1:25 PM
You all haters must be the same people that don't get the Portland building.
You're mistaken...
We hate BambiZilla - and the Portland building - because we DO get it...
...in the shorts.
More than just the twice you posted.
Calm down, man.
Posted by cc | June 30, 2011 1:27 PM
One of the several reasons I dislike the Portland Building is that it leaks; Will this thing leak, too?
Posted by Old Zeb | June 30, 2011 1:48 PM
I'd forgotten how ugly the Portland Building is.
Posted by David E Gilmore | June 30, 2011 2:26 PM
Let's put this teletubbie deer on top of the Portland building.
It will complement the White Stag Sign...LOOK! Iconic!
Posted by portland native | June 30, 2011 2:57 PM
Hahahaha!
Posted by AL M | June 30, 2011 3:25 PM
Bimbotaur
La-La Roid
Hipsy-Dipsy
Stagosaurus
I find it hard to comprehend why public funds would be expended on artistic fail on such a scale at a time when we can't build sidewalks around our public schools for lack of funding.
Posted by Mister Tee | June 30, 2011 3:48 PM
Put a bird on it!
Posted by RicN | June 30, 2011 3:51 PM
Theme song for Milwaukie Light Rails "Rebirth"
Posted by AL M | June 30, 2011 4:25 PM
From the "O" Article:
"Behind, the scenes, however, TriMet's efforts to get the permits and paperwork in order before Nebraska-based Kiewit Bridge and Marine breaks ground today have been a blur."
The same folks that brought you the East Side Tunnel Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO)Project are building the infamous bridge.
This should come in under budget.
Posted by PDXileinOmaha | June 30, 2011 4:31 PM
10,000 years from now, after the great global warming/cooling apocalypse, our human decedents will dig this thing up and start worshiping it.
Posted by anthony | June 30, 2011 5:11 PM
I get it, this is an anti drug ad-statue public service message right?
Kids, this is your government (embodied in Rudolph the too happy reindeer) on drugs, any questions?
Posted by JS | June 30, 2011 5:57 PM
It's a Trojan Deer and a bunch of planners inside.
Save the children!
Posted by Ben | July 1, 2011 9:11 AM
Straight out of Stephen King.
Posted by Bee | July 2, 2011 4:29 PM