Moose Call: I'm going to continue our examination of public art with a show that's certainly nothing if not controversial. Earlier this year the call went out for artists to create a herd of 325 moose to populate street corners, squares and boulevards, turning Toronto into "a grazing land" for sculpture. Moose in the City was based on Chicago's Cows on the Loose, an incredibly successful show that brought in muchos tourist dollars for the Windy City. Well now Mayor Mel Lastman and host Labatt Breweries of Canada hope to mimic this fiscal feat in T.O They grabbed artist Charles Pachter to act as the event's "Moose Mentor," and now the moose are on the loose.

Charlie Pachter's Olympic Moose

At first I thought it was a good idea. I was excited by the prospect of a moose on my street corner. I didn't care that artists of every rank and file were absolutely outraged by this corporate takeover of public art. (Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the moose are bought and paid for by corporate sponsors?) I didn't really see the problem here. I countered with lines like "Well we've been taking money from duMaurier for theatre and jazz, so what's the difference?"

I started to balk was last week, when I saw four moose in front of Loblaws and Club Monaco. They were nothing but shameless corporate art hussies. They weren't designed in any way to reflect the diversity or history of the neighbourhood. They were just there as corporate plugs. A sleazy homage to the almighty buck.

And people are reacting to the sleaze. They're ripping off the antlers. Jumping on the moose and trying to take them for a ride. Just now I noticed someone has written VOTE NO TO THE ALLIANCE on the side my moose. What's remarkable to note in this desecration is that it means that people don't care about this particular assemblage of public art. I guess now, the question to ask is why?

Loblaws' Decadent Moose

I think it has to do with overkill. You can't roam around the downtown core without seeing at least 20 moose. When it was one or two it was fun. Now it's like a sight gag you've seen too many times. You just want it to go away. You want to rip off its antlers or maybe tip it over. I also think that it's crucial to get the public involved in caring for their moose. In my neighbourhood we didn't really know anything about it. We weren't consulted. The moose just arrived. I wonder if we'd all been involved since the beginning, we would have cared about the moose. If public art is going to survive, it needs to be protected from vandalism. The cops can't do the job. What you need is a neighbourhood art watch.

Well the moose will be grazing until Thanksgiving. It should be interesting to see what happens to them between now and then. What do you think about this exhibit? Do you think governments should be getting in bed with corporations for what amounts to nothing more than shameless self-aggrandizement? Or do you think I should go get stuffed?

The Moose Project

Yesterday's column: