Paul McCarthy’s contribution to The FIAC art fair in Paris is an 80-foot sculpture in the Place Vendome titled Tree. But you know, as does ANYONE with sight that is over 21, that it looks much more like a HUGE green butt plug. A story in the french paper Le Monde says that a REALLY angry Parisian accosted the artist in the street, punching him three times in the face! That’s pretty mean –McCarthy is almost 70! But hey, the Vendome column, like most monuments and skyscrapers super-phallic to start with, so McCarthy is just inverting the idea at the other end, right? And, France, don’t poo-poo his art, you could have gotten the piece below that was shown last year in Hong Kong instead. Merde!
Paul McCarthy, Complex Pile, Hong Kong 2013
UPDATE: According to The Guardian the cables supporting the the sculpture were cut today, leaving the artwork slumped on the pavement and forcing a security guard to deflate it. FIAC said it intended to resurrect the sculpture as soon as possible.