Most public art around here is crap.

First, here are some of the best in my community:

Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. These photos, mostly taken by nonprofessionals, show how people have fun with it.

Vision of Peace by Carl Milles, in the St. Paul City Hall. It has an Indian theme, but the artist was not an Indian, so some people quibble about its authenticity, but I like it.

And here are two of the worst:

Something on the campus of Hamline University, done by a former art professor, I think. Ugly as sin, and meaningless. Nice garden, though. (I used to work in this building.)

Something in downtown Minneapolis. Maybe this doesn't qualify as "public art" since I suspect it's privately owned by the company located in the adjacent building, but it certainly is displayed in public. I used to ride by this every day on my way to work, and it always annoyed me. Two people inexplicably standing in a ridiculously unnatural pose, each holding his his/her left arm out horizontally, and jointly supporting a baby over their heads in their right hands. I wanted to yell: "You're gonna drop that kid!" A monument to irresponsible parenting. And these nudes don't even have attractive bodies.