Highway6 Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Who commisioned Adickes to do this piece ?I haven't been by to see it yet.. is it in front of a building down there or off on its own?I think the City of Houston should commision him to do a 80 ft Jeff Bagwell peering over the trees of the NW corner of Memorial park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 I haven't been by to see it yet.. is it in front of a building down there or off on its own?it is adjacent to the older building of the savoy, and in the lawn (?) of the drive through bank/parking area, on the west side of main at leeland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston1stWordOnTheMoon Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 What identity? That we are HUGE rednecks? Hey, i like the cowboy image. I dont think its a negative image. Its an image of Texas that portrays the rough tough go get em attitude from the early years of the cattle drives through bad weather and rough unforgiving enviroments........with all of that, The Cowboy still stood tall......... :):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 it is adjacent to the older building of the savoy, and in the lawn (?) of the drive through bank/parking area, on the west side of main at leelandSo who owns it.. who paid him to put it there ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 So who owns it.. who paid him to put it there ?no one knows yet, apparently - i can't find any news/journal articles on it, and last time i went by, the base was still incomplete. i also checked the city of houston's municipal art page, and nothing...maybe a call to their office would help answer that question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyps Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 This sounds like the name of a punk band...Big Head on Main Street.Any guesses as to who the head is?you're making me nostaligic for the Dead Milkmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 no one knows yet, apparently - i can't find any news/journal articles on it, and last time i went by, the base was still incomplete. i also checked the city of houston's municipal art page, and nothing...maybe a call to their office would help answer that question...I'm thinking the people at the drive-in bank would know. Anyone working downtown could stop by and ask?Cowboy doesn't = redneck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Cowboy doesn't = redneck.Cowboy doesn't = Houston, either.Cotton, lumber, trains, ports = HoustonThough Texas Avenue was designed "14 steer", or 100 feet wide, for cattle drives, most cattle arrived by rail. Houston was settled by, and made famous by, businessmen and traders, not cowboys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 What exactly would you tell someone visiting what the statue is?Oh, that's obvious. Why, you'd tell them, "That's big head on Main Street!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 it's actually some sort of grease/poo smudged on her neck *gag*Didn't take long for the art critics to chime in.What exactly would you tell someone visiting what the statue is?I'd tell them, "It's a Big Head on Main Street."So who owns it.. who paid him to put it there ?We don't know yet. It's entirely possible that he paid someone to put it there.But seriously.Now that the thing's there, how do we go about getting rid of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Now that the thing's there, how do we go about getting rid of it? Awwww, c'mon get rid of Big Head On Main Street? I think we should adopt it as our mascot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 You have to admit, it DOES pull the whole street together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Now that the thing's there, how do we go about getting rid of it? You could probably find some art critics to do the job. Seriously, though, this is a somewhat isolated location for a big head. It seems that the only people who will probably see it will be riders on the train. I would think somewhere further north on Main would work better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Seriously, though, this is a somewhat isolated location for a big head. It seems that the only people who will probably see it will be riders on the train. I would think somewhere further north on Main would work better.agreed. for such a large head it is not very conspicuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 I think it would look better where it could be the center of attention...such as Town Green Park in the Woodlands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 What happened with Adickes giant Beatles statues? They were supposed to be placed at Shepherd and I-10.Being a HUGE Beatles fan I would love to see this go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 She's got a great big goiter on her neck.That's another one of those charming things about Houston -- A giant head appears downtown and people treat it as a passing curiosity because they're so used to Addickes' work. I can't think of any other city that has a living artist that has such a great impact on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Is she giving George the eye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 Big Head On Main Street has piqued my curiousity. Nothing has shown up in Google News as of yet, so I made a phone call to Patricia C. Johnson, art critic at the Houston Chronicle. She was out of the office. I left a message asking for information, and if she intended to comment on it in her column.I then tried the Houston Press, as their offices are a mere two blocks away from BHOMS. The gentleman who answered the phone said that some of their employees had questioned the construction workers who installed it, but as of yet they have no information. He also said that there will be no mention of the sculpture in this week's Press due to deadline constraints, but that there should be something in the following week's issue.So here's my idea: let's barrage the Houston Press with email inquiries from HAIF members with the heading "Big Head On Main Street?" and see what happens. With luck, they may see the humor in it, and mention it in a column. Perhaps the name will stick. Also, we may get a plug for Houston Architectural Information Forum at the same time. The guy who writes "Hair Balls" seems like a likely fellow - here's his email address: rich.connelly@houstonpress.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 i emailed the municipal art coordinator for the city of houston, but haven't heard anything back yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Anyone tried to contact the artist, or his studio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Anyone tried to contact the artist, or his studio?I sent an email to the address listed on his website (www.davidadickes.com) but it was returned. The address was sculpturworx@msn.com. Maybe someone else could try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 So here's my idea: let's barrage the Houston Press with email inquiries from haif2 members with the heading "Big Head On Main Street?" and see what happens. With luck, they may see the humor in it, and mention it in a column. Perhaps the name will stick. Also, we may get a plug for Houston Architectural Information Forum at the same time. The guy who writes "Hair Balls" seems like a likely fellow - here's his email address: rich.connelly@houstonpress.com Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwood Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Done. There is an article in today's Chronicle, City & State section, front page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Here it is.April 19, 2006, 1:17AMCONTEMPORARY ART'Elegance' floats in sea of downtown parking lotsThe artist says giant cement head represents return of aestheticsBy ALLAN TURNERCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle You'd never mistake her for Sam Houston or Stephen F. Austin. Both of those Texas heroes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 "Parking lot magnate."Add that to the list of things kids want to be when they grow up. Right after firefighter. Right before Michael Jackson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 hopefully this magnate continues with public art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 hopefully this magnate continues with public artUpcoming projects:Big Foot On WalkerBig Breasts On CarolineBig Fetus On Canal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 "It's in contrast to all of that other k-r-a-p," he said. "It's an attempt to elevate aesthetics where it was 15 or 20 years ago. Aesthetics went out the window and it's looking to come home."Mom...David spelled the 'k' word...So is the title "Elegance" or "Looking Forward"? Neither is an improvement on BHOMS - and it still looks like a 14 year old girl's doodle during study hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 "Gorgeous"? "Peaceful"? That's not what the dude standing next to me yesterday at lunchtime, said. "What the f*ck is that?", were his remarks. Since I had taken the train down there specifically to look at this...umm..."contemporary art", I practically busted a gut laughing when he said it. I told him we had been debating it. He thought it was a monument to drive-thru banking, as was suggested here. Now, we know it is a monument to surface parking lots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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