Bear statue stirs controversy

Sculpture Stirs ControversyA sculpture put in place to honor Native Americans is stirring controversy in Flat Rock.

A bronze bear statue, unveiled last week in Huroc Park, honors Native American community but it cost $50,000 in taxpayer money.

“It seemed way out of line especially in hard economic times. People are trying to pay their taxes and we’re buying a statue of a bear,” said David Zurowski, a local resident.Comment:  Now we have a picture of the bear statue, and...it's about what I expected. A big, bad bear in the same pose as a thousand other bear representations...ho-hum.

This bear doesn't strike me as especially artistic. It looks a bit lumpy or lopsided, ungainly or awkward, to me. And its aggressive pose is at odds with its supposed message of healing and patience. This bear looks like it's about to attack or eat, not wait or hibernate.

I'm not getting any sense of "honoring Indians" from this picture. For these reasons, I'd say the statue is a failure.

For more on the subject, see Best Indian Monuments to Topple.