If you haven't noticed recently, there have been some new additions to the UF and Gainesville community. They aren't the swarms of parents and potential students who quizzically roam the campus, nor are they the people who hand out fliers for some benefit show or campus club. In fact, they don't do anything except waltz and creepily stare as you walk to your next class.
The new additions are part of "Crossing Paths," an exhibition of bronze statues that are supposed to capture everyday scenes of life.
But after taking a look at these figures, we feel these statues do need to cross a path - right into an RTS bus.
Look, we appreciate the university and the city trying to bolster its cultural bona fides. While Alachua County may not exactly be Paris or Venice, there is a lot of untapped artistic potential that students and residents alike can appreciate.
These statues, however, don't fall into that category.
It was bad enough to have a 20-foot disjointed eyesore overlooking the Plaza of the Americas. Now the North Lawn has turned into an awkward dance floor. What exactly are students supposed to get out of seeing these prancing hulks of art? "Hey guys, the weather sucks, your job prospects are dwindling and your university is getting taken to the woodshed financially - let's all get up and dance!"
But then again, we may just be more autistic than artistic on this one. Art is a completely subjective thing, and it's quite possible we may be talking out of our backside. After all, we are the paper that ran a cartoon showing a male plowing his female sexual counterpart in a (not-so) humorous attempt to make light of the Red Cross' relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake.
It's at least better than Family Circus.
