One man's art is another man's car kabob
Is it art?
The question is eternal, it seems, and people in Berwyn are asking it yet again this week as “The Spindle” — California artist Dustin Shuler’s sculpture of eight cars pierced and stacked on a huge spike at Cermak Plaza — is being offered for sale on eBay for a minimum bid of $50,000. The piece, made famous in the movie “Wayne’s World” but recently targeted to be moved to make way for a Walgreens, has had its share of fans and detractors for years. Some think it’s cool; others just don’t get it, calling the piece an eyesore.
Then again, Chicago’s best-known work of public art — the untitled sculpture by Pablo Picasso at Daley Plaza — wasn’t always popular, either. When it was installed in 1967, “Everybody thought it was an outrage, this funny-looking thing,” Chicago arts advocate Natalie van Straaten has recalled. “Was it a horse? The head of a dog? A lot of people would have preferred a statue of Ernie Banks instead.”
Over the years, the Picasso found its way into most Chicagoans’ favor. It had several advantages over “The Spindle,” however, not least of which is that its creator happened to be the world’s most famous living artist at the time.
What do you think? Is “The Spindle” art? Is the Picasso? Both? Or neither?
