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Replacing the Pioneer Mother and Father

Last updated on 06/21/2020

Apparently not all new public art is as bad as what UO has been installing recently. For example:

Compare with this strange new-age schlock, put up outside Straub a few years back:

And then there’s this terrifying monster:

14 Comments

  1. Anas clypeata 06/20/2020

    Wow, cheap shot at “Luna”, a sculpture that looks beautiful in the early morning light on that empty quad. Also, it was created by Ellen Tykeson MFA ’94, daughter of the generous Tykesons, who have a namesake building on campus.

    Are you deliberately trying to piss off the family of one of the most generous donors in UO history? There are a lot uglier sculptures on campus that you could have picked for verbal abuse.

    https://around.uoregon.edu/content/don-tykeson-communications-pioneer-and-philanthropist-passes

    • uomatters Post author | 06/20/2020

      I’m sorry, I meant to say kitsch.

      • Inquiring minds 06/21/2020

        Still offensive UO matters. Not all art is there for your aesthetic pleasure. It may not speak to you. Ok I enjoy this work and its feminine non-Religious peaceful strength.

        • One Percent Lives Matter 06/21/2020

          Yeah, UOM, what were you thinking. With all the injustice in the world, how DARE you criticize…*checks notes*…a white billionaire!

          To quote Bob Solow, “the One Percent are pretty good at defending themselves, so any assistance they get from the sidelines deserves scrutiny.”

    • charlie 06/21/2020

      Gotta tell ya, if a donor is upset with a bad art review, rather than the financial collapse of their beneficiary, they may need to reconsider their priorities…

  2. honest Uncle Gangsta 06/21/2020

    Personally, I like Luna. Maybe the savages will get her next. I see Mike Schill out happily walking his dog. He must be feeling pretty good about things these days. He probably thinks at least the Phildo is safe.

  3. Not a cloud 06/21/2020

    The round stone with a cut hole in the middle sculpture outside the college of Education is nice, I like it a lot. I think the UO has quite a few examples of effective public art.

  4. Peter Keyes 06/21/2020

    In the debacle leading up to the installation of the goddamn bronze duck, the only high point was when the proposed installation was brought to the committee which oversees the placement of art on campus. They decided it wasn’t within their jurisdiction, as it clearly wasn’t art. #pioneerduck (maybe that will get someone to pull it down).

  5. unfinished business 06/23/2020

    The worst art piece on campus has to be the blocks on the east side of the EMU. It’s actually not too bad, but I am bothered by the fact that the unbroken block and the block in two pieces were just plopped down with no plaques or stands. They’re just on top of the concrete. It seems unfinished.

  6. Public Figures 06/23/2020

    Love the “Public Figures” statue. Could we put Uncle Phil on top and dress all the crushed little people holding him up as sweatshop workers?

    • Dog 06/23/2020

      how about giving all the crushed little people academic robes and gowns instead – same principle

    • uomatters Post author | 06/23/2020

      Or maybe the unpaid Duck football players?

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