Sculptor Tom Otterness

September 2, 2004 8:30 AM

Selected sculptures from Free Money and Other Fairy Tales and Tom Otterness on Broadway, from the artist best known for his New York public art. Crying Giant was originally designed for the Trade Center Memorial Competition. Other exhibitions as well, including Fairy Tale Sculptures by the Sea. His work is rarely mentioned without the word "whimsical." (WTC mentioned on MeFi here, and Otterness also mentioned here).
posted by Shane (11 comments total)

Whoo. Thanks, Shane. I've been trying to find more of this guy's stuff ever since I saw a little image of his in one of my old art history textbooks, but never met with much luck. I had forgotten all about him until now.

Sculptors rule, painters drool!
posted by picea at 8:37 AM on September 2, 2004

Great stuff, Shane, as usual. Thanks!

I think that Crying Giant may be a little too cutesy for a WTC memorial, but it's still cool.

What the hell is the story behind this one? from the first photo of it on that page, I thought it was connected to Crying Giant. But he's on Broadway and this isn't, and it's also not on this page. Anybody know?
posted by soyjoy at 8:59 AM on September 2, 2004

Oh cool! Otterness was the subject of the first post at my new project (self link!).
posted by frykitty at 1:05 PM on September 2, 2004

Heh, picea. That's a great Otterness, frykitty! soyjoy, that's pretty ghastly -- I have no clue about it's origins or meaning. But the fairy tale is "Oh Lars, My Son"? (Scroll down.) Anyone?
posted by Shane at 1:29 PM on September 2, 2004

I pass by "Life Underground" every morning as I walk into work -- it's scattered through the 14th St./8th Ave stop on the ACE line.

But the one in New York that's worth a special visit is The New World -- it runs all through a playground in Hudson River Park, just above Battery Park City. Little penny-obsessed homunculi go about their affairs in a sprawling piece that is very hard to describe from memory but definitely worth the wander over on a sunny afternoon.

If you're in dowtown LA, don't miss the freaky installation The New World in the otherwise uninviting Federal Center. When my wife and I stumbled across it on a sleepy Presidents' Day stroll, the security guard from the courthouse came out and told us how everyone hated it.

Thanks for the reference to the Portland installation, frykitty -- I was just there on a visit; wish I'd known to go look for it...
posted by BT at 6:46 PM on September 2, 2004

Whoops -- the title of that second link is THE REAL WORLD. Sorry about that...
posted by BT at 6:59 AM on September 3, 2004

That's very cool, BT. Among other things, I love the little people obsessed with pennies, swimming in pennies, frogs wrestling over pennies and feet sticking up out of them (drowning?) All the pennies are, very purposely, tails up.
posted by Shane at 8:15 AM on September 3, 2004

Very nice, darling! Is this you, by the way? I think it's you.
posted by taz at 8:51 AM on September 3, 2004

Aww, thanks taz, but I usually don't have a penny to my name ;-)

...and I've decided the frogs are kissing, not wrestling.
posted by Shane at 8:53 PM on September 3, 2004

he rocks...i love seeing his stuff in the 14th st. station too. : >
posted by amberglow at 9:10 PM on September 3, 2004

No, Shane: the Spockfrog on the right is doing the Vulcan mind meld with the frog on the left. It's so obvious.
posted by taz at 10:19 PM on September 3, 2004