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79 Unfortunate Public Artworks That Somehow Made It From The Studio To The Street
Works of art that are displayed for the general public to enjoy are often a contentious topic. On the one hand, you’re trying to liven up and beautify your local community’s spaces. On the other hand, with so many different tastes, wants, and needs, the artist’s vision—no matter how well-intentioned—can end up backfiring. Embarrassingly so!
Our team is featuring the very worst, bizarre, and most hilarious works of public art from around the globe, as shared by internet users in a viral online thread. Keep scrolling to see just how weird things can get.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Sweden
2.3 million euro for a three storey high pink blob. The jerks who spent taxpayer's money on this nonsense should be in jail.
ABC NoThirteen FUCKCENSORISM! 21 minutes ago (edited)
Does someone want to give me 2.3 million to get rid of my construction rubble, too? I'll spraypaint it any colour you want.
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#2
Morocco
I present to you: the leaping fish statue that was torn down because people said they looked like two [private parts] caught in a furious flapping battle.
ABC NoThirteen FUCKCENSORISM! 26 minutes ago
Two DICKS. OP stated that they look like two DICKS. FUCK this censorist BULLSHIT, either dare to tell the fucking story or don't.
#3
Australia
In my area we have the great Owl
As the Financial Times stresses, it is worth asking why an artist would take on a public commission when there are so many potential problems. “Issues around planning, costs and conservation are baked into the job, legal situations often arise and the court of general opinion tends to judge harshly.”
According to curator and author Jo Baring, there is a lot more scrutiny placed on public works of art. “We ask more of our public sculpture than of paintings in museums, especially in our community, where it has to meet us on our own territory,” she told FT.
#4
Canada
Stack of shiny balls to admire as you whiz by on a freeway. Edmonton, Alberta
#5
United States Of America
This statue was created to support Jimmy Carter (a peanut farmer) for his presidential campaign. It still exists today.
#6
Argentina
This.
Itchy Twitchy 19 minutes ago
He embezzled 4.1 million euros and was sentenced to 21 months in prison for three counts of tax fraud, of which he did not serve a single day, as he paid his way out. He is a prime example of the fact that in this world, some are equal and others are more equal. And still, despite that, he is worshiped like a god.
FT notes that public works of art often fail if they can’t connect with the people who walk past them. That being said, it is impossible to connect with everyone.
“Curating anything by committee is a fool’s errand. We all know that art cannot and should not please everybody at the same time,” explained specialist art and intellectual property lawyer Jon Sharples.
It’s not just the locals who are involved in judging the artwork, however. There are lots of professionals, including clients, developers, art consultants, architects, landscape architects, project manager engineers, and site managers who have their own opinions. This can guide the entire project in unexpected directions.
“There needs to be clarity about where that expertise ends and artistic authorship begins,” sculptor Nick Hornby says.
#7
Italy
I wouldn't say "country" per se, but my town has a recently-erected monument to the fallen with a soldier clinging to one standing. When facing front, the fallen soldier has his mouth open in agony... WAY close to the standing brother-in-arms
And then, a few years later, the current mayor - against *any and all possible common sense* - thought it would be a *great* idea to place A FOUNTAIN in the middle of the plaza.
The juxtaposition goes as well as you'd expect.
#8
United States Of America
I present my humble offering of HORSE(?)
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 hours ago
'Tain't what a horse look like. It's what a horse [don't] be.
#9
United Kingdom
I'll give you the infamous Iron man in Birmingham And you can't ask me why Because I honestly don't know 😫
Love it or hate it (or both), public art is important. According to a representative of the Joanne Artman Gallery, writing in a post on Artsy, public art has a significant role in society.
“Places with strong public art expressions give communities a stronger sense of place and identity,” the Gallery rep emphasizes.
#10
Spain
The Plane-Man sculpture. This monstrosity cost over 400000€ and that is just the outer layer of the absolute matryoshka doll of corruption and public funds mishandling that is the Castellón airport.
#11
United States Of America
How has no one posted "National Velvet" yet? It's in Denver, CO.
#12
Germany
Behold the red rabbit
They add that works of art made by creative people can “capture the spirit and atmosphere of their cultural milieu.”
“Although it’s difficult to isolate the monetary impacts of public art, the social and cultural effects are invaluable. Public art enhances, and often creates, the identity of public spaces. It transforms cities and the way people perceive the world around them. Public art has become essential in making cities stand out and attract new homeowners, businesses, and professionals.”
#13
Zambia
In Zambia they have the giant chicken.
When I used to live there, the mayor of Lusaka tried to get it torn down but it caused a nationwide outcry as we all love the giant chicken.
#14
Canberra, Australia
Canberra has a lot of awful public art but this is my least favourite.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 hours ago
The climbing bars at my school were much better laid out.
#15
New Zealand
Hard to beat the Dunedin teeth statues. Their whole existence is a terrible pun (they are at the mouth of the harbour get it?!)
Brittania Kelli 55 minutes ago
A country full of amazing Maori carvings and this is what they display? Shame!
In short, public art makes art as a whole more accessible to the entire local community. There are no limits placed on viewing it.
Art can transform public spaces, making them more vibrant and imaginative. What’s more, it can provide reasons for stronger relationships between the locals and the space. In other words, you can feel more attached to your area because of the public displays of artistic expression featured there.
#16
Spain
Also I love her and I don't think she's bad public art at all, but The Emigrant's Mother in Gijón can be terrifying. We call her "the madwoman"
#17
United States Of America
Here’s a statue that was in front of one of the major hospitals in San Diego. (It’s since been moved pretty much out of sight—and a flagpole placed in its stead). The locals named it “the Scripps [hospital] t**d.” I thought, let’s be charitable. It’s obviously a section of diseased intestine successfully removed by the fine surgeons in the hospital.
#18
Czech Republic
I lived in Prague for a while. They have a long history of wonderfully weird public art.
Brittania Kelli 50 minutes ago
That's because Prague is home to the artist David Czerny who has several works around Prague. My favourite of his was the bottom half of a man and you climb stairs to look inside its behind and there is a video loop of two art critics feeding each other spaghetti.
As per the Gallery, public art can “act as a catalyst” for area (re)generation via building and reinforcing community culture.
What’s more, it serves as a way to visually document the local culture’s history and evolution. It reveals and reflects what’s unique both about the neighborhood and society as a whole.
#20
USA
Banana sculpture in my home town of Little Rock, Arkansas. It's weird but it's ours, and it helps distract from our crime problem.
#21
Germany
This is a statue of Snowwhite (obviously, everyone would immediately recognise it as such /s) in Lohr, it should have costed 20.000€ but ended up costing over 100.000€, where were several TV stations reporting on it when it was unveiled.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 hours ago
Pippi Longstocking, Snow White, what's the difference?
“In addition to the aesthetic benefits of having works of art in public places, artists can make valuable contributions. Inevitably bringing personal and distinctive interpretations to their endeavors, artists participating in public art displays are able to effectively advocate through art for alternative perspectives that can challenge assumptions, beliefs, and community values.”
In a nutshell, public art serves to benefit everyone, including the neighborhood, local community, and the artists themselves.
#24
Australia
Idk about in the country but this local sculpture is meant to be an apple peel and I’ve always hated it.
To be clear, there is absolutely no way that you can make a work of art that will be universally beloved. Even the best artists have their critics.
So, even before you display something in public, you have to humble yourself and embrace the fact that you will hear criticism. Some of it will be constructive. Most of it won’t. A lot of it will sting. The important thing is to (try) not to take it personally.
Use the constructive insights you hear from the public to grow as a professional and improve your future work. Discard the rest of the criticism, especially if its only goal is to put you down. It’s not productive to ruminate on emotional attacks. Though, to be fair, that’s easier said than done.
At the end of the day, remember that you will never make everyone happy, no matter how talented you are. So emotional resilience must be in your toolbox as an artist. Especially for one who works in public spaces.
#25
Australia
this monstrosity of a statue they spent an unnecessary amount of money on.
#26
United States Of America
Can’t believe no one in my country has mentioned this monstrosity yet.
That being said, even if large segments of the public can’t vocalize specifically why they don’t like your art doesn’t mean that your work is automatically brilliant. You should not turn a blind eye to their outrage.
It is likely that the general public can sense a lack of quality or cohesion in your art but can’t quite manage to provide constructive, detailed, actionable feedback.
A true pro will set their ego aside and ask other artists and critics for their thoughts. Ideally, before their artwork is already placed in public. But feedback after the fact is useful, too.
#29
Australia
This pigeon statue in Rundle Mall
The Malls Balls are famous, The Pigeon is infamous.
#30
Sweden
Örebro, Sweden
muh taxmoney
Be honest, Pandas, which of these works of art did you love to hate and hate to love? Which ones do you genuinely think you wouldn’t mind seeing in your town? On the flip side, which ones are so embarrassingly bad that you wouldn’t want anywhere near you?
What are the very worst and best pieces of public art near your home? Share your opinions, stories, and photos in the comments at the bottom of this list.
#33
New Zealand
New Lynn Clouds sculpture.
#34
Singapore
Singapore has a whole park of nightmare fuel statues built by the Haw Par family of Tiger Balm fame. It is meant to teach children about the animals of the world, Chinese fairytales, Chinese history, and Confucian and Buddhist values but never having any fond childhood memories on the precipice between wonder and trauma, I can squarely say it is a repository for the Singapore's worst statues. It's hard to decide between hundreds if not thousands of statues there but I think the demon panda cubs speak for themselves. These things are placed in a cave near the exit and stare right into your soul. They are more scary in my opinion than even the depiction of hell they have. These pandas have seen things and done things no adult panda has or frankly would ever do.
#35
Portugal
this statue in Portugal
#36
Elgin, Moray, Scotland
It's a tough draw between Dandy Lion in Elgin and *that one* William Wallace statue
#39
Australia
$172,000 hot air balloon to celebrate my city’s centenary. I love it.
A loathsome, offensive brute… yet I can’t look away.
David Paterson 2 hours ago (edited)
Oh no. I Love this one. It's called sky whale. The reason I love it is that there was a sequel to it, the two work beautifully together. The artist is Patricia Piccinini, who has done some really fantastic smaller scale sculptures, mostly of surreal s*xually enhanced animals. This was her first foray into balloons, and it didn't work so well. She followed "sky whale", the ten-breasted feminine surreal animal, with "sky papa", the masculine equivalent with bulging muscles. "Sky papa" is better, and the two work beautifully together as a family.
#40
United States Of America
It’s no longer there, and was beloved by some, but this spindle of cars in a Berwyn, Illinois parking lot was controversial.
#41
Sydney, Australia
P*o on sticks.
Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia.
#42
United States
I actually really like that statue! I think it being in the train station - especially an international one like St.P - conveys the emotion of leaving people 😭
Anyway, I’m neutral about it but most people hate it - the “Embrace” in downtown Boston. It’s supposed to be MLK and his wife hugging, but….. your mileage may vary
#44
Russia
This thing
#45
South Korea
The artwork made from 30000 pairs of used shoes installed at Seoul Station. It was installed for about a week in 2017. I did not see it in person, but according to reviews, the smell was quite strong. For your information, it cost 100 million won to install this, and someone else will convert that amount into dollars and let you know.
#46
Poland
Rzeszów, Poland has this semi-famous Big thing.
#47
United States Of America
I'm sure there are worse ones in the USA, but in my hometown there are funyuns on a prominent hillside.
#48
Poland
The pope as one of the Avengers in front of the national museum. And literally every other of the thousand statues of the pope in my country.
I highly recommend checking the memes people have made out of this particular statue, they're absolutely hilarious.
#49
United States Of America
Ulaanbaatar has this statue of the Predator riding a xenomorph motorcycle. It’s right outside the Children Theater.
Edit to clarify I actually think it’s sick AF.
#50
United States Of America
The Mothman statue in Point Pleasant, WV. It’s a statue of the famous local cryptid but it looks nothing like the eye witness reports
#52
Canada
i think that statue is nice, nothing wrong with a couple in love
however, i dont know how unpopular this opinion is, but i hate the ottawa spider.
Brittania Kelli 34 minutes ago
It's by Louise Bourgeois and there are a few of her 'spider' statues which are are titles 'Maman' as she felt her mother had many attributes in common with a spider; in a good way.
#53
Karnataka, India
this statue
#56
Argentina
Mirtha Legrand is a quite famous celebrity here. The statue was a gift from an artisan from here hometown. She was definitely not happy with it.
#57
Colorado, United States
Blucifer.
#58
Duisburg, Germany
This Thing is called Pleitegeier (broke vulture) costed million of Euros in a broke City (Duisburg, Germany)
Bored Birgit 29 minutes ago (edited)
Should have been painted by kindergarten kids to minimize the costs.
#61
Romania
Timisoara-Romania, these are right next to "The Children's Park" amongst some other weird ones. As a kid I always thought the one on the left is phallic and my mom was as confused as me regarding them, I hated going to that area.
#63
Hamilton, Ohio, USA
this
#64
France
Woinic the biggest and ugliest wild boar on earth
#65
Poland
Given that we have had only one compatriot pope, and that this was relatively recently, there is at least one statue of him in practically every major town and since among hundreds of statues there are inevitably some less successful ones, these have proven rather meme-worthy.
#66
Canada
I humbly offer for your consideration the Saskatoon plastic boulder that our city council wisely paid $300k for.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 hour ago (edited)
At least it's not the world's biggest h0e.
#67
Lithuania
It is a sculpture in Vilnius, Lithuania. Quite expensive one lol
#68
United States Of America
Honorable mention to the 9/11 memorial at the New Bern Firemen's Museum in North Carolina.
#69
Finland
Let me present you with the mighty posankka (pig-duck) in my city!
The locals (me included) love it though and it has been named as the official animal of the city and has spawned a great amount of merch, including but not limited to rubber bath duck replicas.
#71
England
This statue was erected as a memorial to a girl who fell off this cliff.
The statue is on the edge of the cliff and of the girl falling off the cliff. I would say potentially poor taste for a memorial.
#72
United States Of America
The bird t**d preserve they put in front of the UT Austin electrical engineering building.
The artist had such a lack of message that he couldn’t think of a name for it, and had some kind of contest for people to think of what it should be called. It’s called *Clock Knot.*.
#73
Dublin, Ireland
Monument of Light. It's a 120-metre pole in the middle of Dublin. Awful thing. Not as terrible looking as some in the thread, but god it's bad.
#74
Japan
Not my country, but I’d say this one in Tokyo is up there.
It’s the Asahi Beer Hall, afaik.
#75
United States Of America
Not sure if it's the worst or actually the coolest and most tough looking statue. Boll weevil monument in Alabama. Looks like something the Abrahamic religions try to warn us about not worshipping lmao
#76
United Kingdom
Anish Kapoor's Orbit tower
#77
United States Of America
This fine piece of artwork in down Lexington Kentucky is called “A Common Thread”. It cost the City $800,000
Elladine DesIsles 1 hour ago
This one is kinda pretty. Admittedly, not $800k pretty, but still more visually pleasing than most of the others.
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What do you think ?
David Paterson 2 hours ago (edited)
My least favourite public art is a wall covered in plaster skulls that have been blackened by a fire. Deliberately horrible. I won't tell you where it is, but every time I pass I have the urge to throw water balloons filled with sky blue paint at it.
David Paterson 2 hours ago (edited)
My least favourite public art is a wall covered in plaster skulls that have been blackened by a fire. Deliberately horrible. I won't tell you where it is, but every time I pass I have the urge to throw water balloons filled with sky blue paint at it.
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