Cityscape
Best impression of Marc el Duchamp on a piece of public art: The Vandalizing of "54 Columns"
Staff Pick
In 1919, French artist Marcel Duchamp decorated a postcard of the Mona Lisa with a moustache and goatee. For some reason, it became a famous work of art. We can only hope the same holds true for THE VANDALIZING OF “54 Columns.” The Sol LeWitt-designed series of gray cinder-block towers in the Old Fourth Ward is supposed to evoke the Atlanta skyline, but the bland cinder-block structure mainly provokes derision. In August, someone (perhaps inspired by Duchamp?) painted one of the towers Pepto-Bismol-pink. Local arts officials stripped the paint off immediately, but not before the exhibit, dour and austere on its best day, had a dash of fun. Viva la public art!
