Public opinions regarding public art run from love to indifference to hatred. A work by San Francisco artist Brian Goggin has divided the citizens of Petaluma since it was installed last autumn. A Fine Balance is two clawfoot bathtubs atop steel stilts overlooking the Petaluma River.
The sculpture immediately reminded me of Salvador Dali’s long legged elephants that occur in several of his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Dali never gave a definitive explanation of his elephants, but one interpretation I like is that while elephants are symbols of power, the support for that power is flimsy, tenuous, and may collapse any moment. That’s particularly relevant these days.
Looks as if they did their best to put it in an obscure and uninteresting location.
ReplyDeleteIt was originally going to be placed somewhere else. Now it's at this "pocket park."
DeleteCould it be a sardonic nod to H.G. Wells?
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