Photo Essay: Public Art

Edmonton Legislature Grounds, 2020

First, many thanks to those of you who have subscribed recently and continued thanks to those who have been reading since the beginning. I am deeply grateful for your time and engagement.

Next, due to unexpected circumstances I won’t go into here (but maybe next time), my writing time has been limited lately, so this newsletter will be more of a short photo essay about public art, especially the ones Geo and I’ve found during our time here in Spain.

Public art has always drawn me to it. The above photo is one of my favourites from my long-time hometown of Edmonton. Those five beautiful profiles looking out at the world from different perspectives are located near the legislature (you can see a sliver of it at the bottom left). I used to visit these faces on foot every season of the year. And that’s what I do wherever I travel: walk around and look for public art. I have photos of myself with many fascinating characters, including

Me with W B Yeats in Sligo (2018)

Me with Oscar Wilde in Dublin (2018)

Me with The Big Fish in Belfast (2018)

I’m always smiling in the photos (if I’m in them, they were taken by Geo. If not, they’re mine.) I always walk away feeling better for having had an encounter with a work of art specifically chosen to occupy a specific space. But I don’t walk away before watching how people move around it. How does the public engage with a work of public art? Can they get close to it? Can they sit on it? Does it give them shelter or a moment of rest? Do they even notice it or just hurry by? What are its purposes?

Geo and I approached this piece from the finger end, digits extended as if it wanted to shake hands. And then we saw the surprise.

Is it a hand or is it a bird? Málaga 2023

A few days later, we found this one.

Water-Skiing Girl, Marbella 2023

She’s naked of course, because what woman doesn’t water-ski naked? She has impossibly positioned perfect breasts given what she’s doing. I have no idea who the sculptor is, but this is definitely a male fantasy. Apparently she’s been moved around to a few locations, but now she’s on a popular surfing beach.

Marbella is a resort town west of Málaga. Rows of apartment hotels and restaurants open out onto wide walkways and the Mediterranean. Geo and I came, walked, had lunch, gazed at Water-Skiing Girl and then started back to our car, taking a new route through a pedestrian walkway called Avenida del Mar. Ahead we saw a sculpture, exotic and intricate. Dalí, I thought. And it was.

And another one.

Perseus, holding the head of Medusa.

And another.

There were ten in total, all by Dalí. I knew he was Spanish, but I didn’t know he was connected to Marbella. Later, I would discover that he’s not, except through these pieces. Apparently, the Marbella culture people thought Marbella needed a bit more, well culture, I guess, given that culture-filled Málaga is less than an hour down the road, so they contacted Dalí and ordered some art. The display is stunning. And quite a surprise to find on your way back to the car after seeing the likes of naked Water-Skiing Girl and this one.

Of course, the cow is not public art; it’s advertising. We saw the first one on our first day in Madrid. We thought it was a cute little out-of-the-way shop. It turns out these shops are everywhere. There was even one in small windblown Mijas. You can’t get away from the cow.

Thanks for reading Me Who Writes. If you enjoyed this piece, please share it with your friends. I’ll be back in this space in two weeks. Stay well, everyone.