City’s Beautification Initiative Hamstrung By Commitment To Local Artists

BLOOMINGTON, IL-Amid a campaign aimed at improving the aesthetics of previously neglected public spaces, the team behind a new beautification initiative admitted Thursday to feeling impeded by the city's commitment to using only local artists.Seeing the quality of some of these pieces, I'm beginning to worry that we vastly over-estimated the amount of artistic talent here in Bloomington," said project coordinator Tim Mackey, examining a sculpture that consisted of a single bent piece of scrap metal and had been funded through a $25,000 capital improvement grant. I'm pretty sure when the mayor promised residents a revitalized arts district, he didn't mean a couple of wonky fish sculptures haphazardly nailed to a tree by the guy who runs the coffee shop. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the government is finally investing in public art, but Jesus fucking Christ, what is going on with these murals? Why are the noses so small and weird? And is that supposed to be John Lennon? For fuck's sake, it looks like Charles Manson."Mackey was later overheard telling the local press that all of the new artwork downtown had been created by neighborhood children.

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