YAY OR NAY? Just days into its debut, a gigantic whale sculpture is turning heads and drawing people to a Liberty Park neighborhood.
Many people are stopping by to take pictures and some are driving by while yelling their distaste for the new public art installation.D.J. Smith, the manager of Caffe Expresso located directly across the street from the sculpture, has been on board since the beginning. He thinks the title and the artwork fits the 9th & 9th neighborhood it’s in.Smith and other baristas at Caffe Expresso can testify that the blubberous mammal is creating a rubberneck roundabout.
Several people made 900 South and 1100 East a destination Thursday so they could see the life-size breaching humpback whale up close. Sondra Saunders grew up in Salt Lake City and said she loves the colors of the whale sculpture and welcomes its presence in the neighborhood.Local artist Chuck Landvatter has mixed feelings about the statue.
Landvatter added that he doesn’t think a public piece of art has been talked about since the 337 building, which was a collective artwork project from 2007.