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53 Comments

  1. Ummm….OK.  Doesn’t seem much better than the whirly thing that used to be in West Market Square.

  2. Had to export the job for a sculpure to Japan??  I still like the Big Paul Bunyan statue a lot better, and at least you know what the heck you’re looking at when you see him.

    How much did the Bangor taxpayers get stiffed for this rock?  Next time the teacher unions starts belly aching about money, send them down to the water front to check out the statue. 

    1. This project didn’t cost the Bangor taxpayers anything.  It was funded entirely through private donations.  The sculpture is a gift from the Schoodic International Symposium organization, which did the fundraising and took care of all the logistics.  

      1. Is there a list of the benefactors? Ok, sorry, now I see it is the Schoodic International Symposium.

        1. It would be true if the Fed’s, State and locals did not pony up millions and millions to acquire and redevelop the former rail yard for a spot to place the “no cost to taxpayers” art work. 

      2. nothing is free…it will cost the tax payers to move “The Dick” family away from the waterfront…it is “butt” ugly and should be sent to Japan. What happened to the sculpture from downtown? Why wasnt that put at the waterfront. At least that resembled water…..

  3. I do believe Ms. Ogino has a fixation on phallic sculptures. I guess art is in the eye of the beholder and whom is numb enough to gaze upon it.

    1. I believe the artist (well known international artist from Japan) left that question open on purpose. I guess, looking at it, it shows a family (two adults and one child) taking refuge on a small island of hope while surrounded by the unknown (depicted by the few pods). I guess it could mean ‘land of hope’ or ‘land of peace’. Just my opinion.

      1. It represents the need for Maine to embrace the refugees! Give us your tired and huger in Maine, come one come all and receive food stamps, money to set up a business, disability, medical care! I”m impressed. Maybe liberals  from Belfast are moving to Bangor. Hopefully! That way we can get rid of our ugly stump benches, welded junk piles labeled as sculptures, and hippies singing in the street.

    1.  Haha- agree that the sculpture looks like penises. Guess if Georgia O’Keefes flower vaginas can be found all over the world, a few penises on the Bangor waterfront should be acceptible. funny!

    2. If you expand the small photo, I see a mom, dad and a little girl. They’re all cyclops, but two of them do have holes bottom center…..     :)

      Hey, I didn’t take Art Appreciation!

  4. You got to be kidding me?? Who in hell payed for this waste?? Bangor city councilmen gave the go ahead for this?? That must have been a tough one to make,LOL, could not one of our many granite shops have done something, well made a sculpture with some class. Wow, bury the damn thing.

      1. Sorry, but I see nothing, at all that could explain this, it is horrible, and I will be damned if I will keep quiet about it. Bury the damn thing.

        1. Of course it’s an ugly piece of crap, and no one has asked you to be quiet about it (where’d that come from?).

          “Who in hell payed for this waste??” was your question. 
          That’s why I referred you to the second comment here in my reply to you……

  5. Hey!! a smooth rock with some squares on it.. we must have a vigil sit in a circle around the long pointy thing  and ponder the meaning of life. anyone game.. be one with the earth. yeh!

  6. Why didn’t a student from Maine or any Maine artist create a sculpture for the waterfront? The Schoodic Sculpture Symposium only had eight in attendance, and this was the best?????

    1. Too much talent from the Maine Artists. Really the City had to meet their quota of diversity and was forcd to place it because the student is a minority. If a local got the ability o place a sculpture over a minority there would have been lawsuit!

      Hopefully someone will come along and steal it.

    2. Judge for yourself. You can see all the other sculptures here and who commissioned them:

      bangorbytes.com/2012/09/queen-city-quiz-3-can-you-guess-which.html

      1. I checked your web site—–perhaps Paul should be freed and taken to the waterfront—then the camel country can head over to the new auditorium. My problem is that when an artist designs a piece, usually, they would consider the place it would be and try to reflect the history or something connected to the site. This is a sore thumb or worse—even with humps it is not a group of interacting camels. I guess the sculptor gets the last laugh when people praise something that deserves no praise. Of everything shown on your site in the photo—only one appeals to me and not for the water front.

        Thanks for the photo.

        1. Thanks for checking out the photos of the other sculptures that were commissioned.  As impressive as some of them are, the Paul Bunyan statue is the piece of work that reflects the history of our area and the waterfront the best.  I agree.  Move Koichi Ogino’s sculpture to the new arena and re-establish the connection between Paul and the waterfront.  I highly doubt the original intent of Paul’s artist was for him to face a parking structure and be dwarfed by large buildings. Free Paul! 
          bangorbytes.com/p/free-paul.html

  7. I’ll  admit that I’m no art afficionado, but seriously…..wtf is this supposed to be? This thing is as ugly as all the stuff around Belfast, labeled as ‘art’ and gushed over by the ‘art’ loving crowd that is, in reality, a bunch of junk that, instead of hauling it to the dump, someone welded together. What ever happened to art being something that is readily identifiable?

  8. These have been hands down some of funniest comments I have ever seen here…LOL, The Dick Family ! 

  9. OMG this is terrible.  Maine has more interesting field stones that would be more in keeping with the area if they have to have a sculpture.

  10. I’d have rather seen Ray Murphy from Hancock be commissioned to do a piece.  At least it would be a local artist with a gist of what Maine’s typically all about.

  11. This stone thing certainly does have every one laughing. I don’t see anything that would connect with being on the waterfront. One thing it might do, is ground a few boats because the captains were laughing hysterically and couldn’t see to steer their boat.

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