And he wants you to know it.
I just like this picture
Houston’s efforts at self-promotion – remember “Houston. It’s Hot!”? – have come and gone. Somehow, though, the Bayou City always looked for love in all the wrong places. Now, thanks to concrete sculptor David Adickes, the sprawling metropolis finally may have found some heart. Fittingly, it’s beside a freeway.
Workers on Tuesday began erecting Adickes’ newest creation, a multi-colored, 30-plus-foot-tall sculpture – “We (heart) Houston” – facing Interstate 10 East, just west of downtown.
[…]
“I think it’s going to have an interesting, welcoming approach into the downtown area,” said Minnette Boesel, the mayor’s assistant for cultural affairs. “I believe David’s inspiration is the iconic artwork that has been developed for other cities, the “I Love New York” art by Robert Indiana. … His thought is to use artwork to welcome people into our city. It’s on his property. The city does not own the statue or own the property.”
David Thompson, co-founder of the “Houston. It’s Worth It” campaign, suggested Adickes should erect twin towers, one bearing the legend, “We (heart) Houston,” the other, “If Only Outsiders Did.”
“We can’t have ‘We (heart) Houston,’ because it’s ‘We (heart) New York,'” he said. “I can’t believe it. I appreciate his effort, but it’s a bit derivative.”
Actually, David, it was “I Love New York”, not “We (heart) New York”. I remember this because I was there when that famous tourism ad campaign was running. See for yourself:
Is the Adickes work derivative of that? Yeah, it is, but I don’t care. He says his inspiration is the giant HOLLYWOOD sign. Fine by me either way. You can see a picture of this installation here. I need to do my own drive-by and get a picture of it myself. It will be formally dedicated on July 12. Not everyone likes Adickes’ latest, but I do. Keep ’em coming, David. I’m already looking forward to whatever it is you’re doing next.
meh.
I like it. What i don’t like is bloggers encouraging others to deface public property.