I had been huffing and puffing about the important sculpture’s disrespectful siting since I saw it eons ago in the 1990s. So, my excitement at seeing its new placement — which I feel is much more respectful — triggered a kind of sigh of relief and maybe even happiness.
Sure, the 1973 Art Brut masterwork by Jean Dubuffet is not in the exalted position of its compatriot, the Clothespin (1976) by Claes Oldenburg out front of the building. But for one weird dude — fierce, aggressive and off the rails (Gritty and Don Quixote come to mind) — his placement inside a corporate structure is weirdly appropriate. Not only does the sculpture hold its own in the space but as a monumental art work chosen to stand before a corporate signboard, a kind of mascot, it’s a great and maybe unintentional symbol of late stage corporate capitalism.
I suggest a tour of Milord LaChamarre that begins at street level, by entering Centre Square after passing by the Clothespin. The sculpture’s in the atrium and you can’t miss it. Then, for further fun, take the escalator to the subway level and bask in all the many facets of the art work while you descend. At the subway concourse level the sculpture towers over you and is fully monumentally sublime, awesome and fearful in equal measure. For more information and a different point of view about Milord’s new siting, see Inga Saffron’s piece in today’s Inquirer.
Reach me at editor@theartblog.org with your thoughts about this and other public art you want to talk about.
