The debate over the proposed sculptures for Armstrong Park interests me more than the art does. What I can figure out is how beautifying the park is supposed to bring life back to it. Who goes to a park to look at the sculptures, and how long can that take? Wouldn’t it be better to open the park so that people can use it? And bring Rampart back to life – and not as  Ye Olde New Orleans – so that the park is an integrated part of the city. Clearly, treating it as a stand-alone, culturally significant place that you’re supposed to want to go to hasn’t worked. When has, “Do this. It’s good for you” ever worked? 

… speaking of the art, I’m conceptually amused at the transformation of Indian feathers into stone, but it’s hard to get around how lumpish that piece looks.