Ron Robertson-Swann’s Vault, [nicknamed The Yellow Peril] initially installed in Melbourne’s city square copped so much criticism the council moved it to other insignificant locations until finally installing it at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Now it has a high status. It just took 40 years to achieve it.
Soon laudation will occur for locals to share about the new sculpture in Byron Bay. It is ART, it is Council’s support (ie our support) of the arts and is here to stay.
Many objections on social media compared the sculpture to a penis and a dildo. I possess a penis and object to the comparison as my penis is nothing at all like this sculpture. Unless I had metal birdlike protrusions all over it and several bulges and gaps.
Using a dildo in the form of the lighthouse sculpture beggars belief. Severe damage would occur.
Maybe it’s a work of art and we either like it or not; the criterion for all art. I personally think the Mona Lisa, the statues of Venus and David, the Eiffel Tower and the Trevi Fountain are all crap and need to be be relocated.
We should criticise the Cape Byron lighthouse for its shape, and sell IT to pay for pothole repairs. And when they paint it pink? Well the mind boggles. It clearly surpasses art, and according to some critics it transgresses into some realm of pornography.
I had a good look at the sculpture to find out its name. There is a plaque placed on the floor of the sculpture. The name of the sculpture is: Climbing or interfering with the sculpture is prohibited.
Not bad.
Raphael Lee Cass
Byron Bay
