San José Is A "Moo-seum"
As Of Today
San José will today
officially inaugurate
its "Cow Parade", where
some 130 works of art
are on display in the
downtown core along the
pedestrian walkways of
Avenida Central and
Avenida Cuatro and the
Parque Central.
Part of the display
includes the “Bailando
con vacas” (dancing
cows), Vaca florero”,
“Miss Daysi” and
“Vaquita banana”.
The displays starting
going up during Semana
Santa and were completed
yesterday with the focal
point of the display and
the inauguration
ceremony to take place
in Central Park in front
of the Catedral
Metropolitana.
The cows will be on
display for the next
four months and then be
auctioned off, where 60%
of the proceeds will go
towards community
projects.
Although the organizer
of the display, Vallas y
Gigantografía, refuses
to comment on what each
cow could be worth, the
company has denied
rumours that the first
work of art has already
a buyer who is willing
to pay us$150.000.
"That is not true, no
cow will be sold before
the auction. What I can
say is that there are a
number of art lovers and
some artists have
received offers", said
Carlos Soto, lawyer for
Vallas y Gigantografía.
Soto added that the cows
will be judged by a
panel and will be given
a base value for the
auction, which date has
yet to be set. The
company is planning to
hold three separate
auctions, which will
include an internet
auction.
Although the cows
brighten the downtown
core and put a smile on
passersby, there have
been a number of acts of
vandalism against the
works of art that has
prompted the city to
erect signs saying the
cows are a work of art,
care for them, but don't
touch.
In addition, the Policía
Municipal (municipal
police) and the Fuerza
Pública have been asked
to keep an eye out for
vandals.
A number of the cows
have already been
damaged and have to be
moved to safer locations
and protected by
barriers. One example is
the cow decorated with
coffee beans. Vandals or
passersby took to
removing the coffee
beans, leaving bald
patches in many places.
The work of art was
repaired, moved from its
location on the west end
of Avenida Cental to the
south side of the Parque
Central and surrounded
by metal barricades.
For Art, For Charity,
For Fun
CowParade is the world’s
largest public art
event. From Chicago and
New York in 1999 and
2000 to Kansas City and
Houston in 2001, London
in 2002 and now San José
in 2008, CowParade
continues to evolve, not
just in size, but in
creativity and quality
of art.
While the cow sculptures
remain the same, each
city’s artists are
challenged by the art
from past events,
inspired by the cultural
influences of their
respective cities, and
moved by their own
interpretation of the
cow as an art object.
CowParade is not meant
to be high art, however.
It is first and foremost
a public art exhibit
that is accessible to
everyone.
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