A beehive sculpture costing thousands of pounds has been removed from a public park after complaints it looked ‘too rude’.
We aren’t shown a ‘before’ photo, but we can imagine…
Award-winning sculptor Thompson Dagnall – who was paid around £3,500 for the work – said a Tameside council boss told him the design was too ‘phallic’.
*sigh*
Mr Dagnall had originally carved an intricate metal bee on a wooden orchid but was told the flower wasn’t realistic enough.
So he replaced the orchid with the beehive – to then be told the new design was too rude.
Now council workers have cut the beehive off the top of the sculpture and moved it – along with the bee – to a quieter area of Hyde Park on the outskirts of Manchester.
What a great job! ‘Commissioner Of Public Art That Won’t Offend Anyone Ever, Anywhere’..!
Philip Fitzpatrick, chairman of Hyde district assembly, said the bee sculpture was just a project that ‘didn’t work out’.
Councillor Fitzpatrick added: ‘I don’t think it’s phallic. He was not told that by me or any of the elected members – but there are thousands of people working for the council.’
Yes, and that’s the bloody problem….
The most shocking thing about this story is that it cost £3500 to carve a simple shape into a tree trunk. I know a young tree surgeon who has just produced a much more complicated bit of wood carving for a few hundred pounds. He could knock off a beehive in a few hours. This ‘artist’ is taking the p*ss.
As ever, the taxpayer gets shafted.
Modern art – it really is the Emperor’s New Clothes!