The mayor of Lucille Ball's hometown of Celoron, New York, says he'll hire a new sculptor to "fix" the village's much-maligned statue of the 1950s sitcom star after criticism of the public artwork drew worldwide attention.
Mayor Scott Schrecengost said Tuesday he has spoken with a sculptor who agreed to fix the life-sized bronze statue of Lucy for less than the $10,000 quoted years ago by the original sculptor, Dave Poulin.
The announcement comes only hours after Poulin told The Associated Press he was willing to create a new statue for free. The mayor says he doesn't want Poulin to redo the work; Poulin said he's fine with that decision.
In a letter to The Hollywood Reporter, Poulin, who has more than 30 years of experience sculpting in bronze, admits that he missed the mark with the bug-eyed depiction of the iconic I Love Lucy star.
"From the day of its installation, I have shared my disappointment in the final outcome and have always believed it to be by far my most unsettling sculpture, not befitting of Lucy’s beauty or my ability as a sculptor," Poulin wrote in the letter.
The 400-pound bronze likeness was installed in a village park in 2009. It was privately commissioned by friends of the artist, who in turn donated it to the village.
The statue immediately elicited a flood of mockery and outrage from critics who dubbed the "monstrous" statue "Scary Lucy" and claimed it bears little resemblance to the beloved comedian. The statue portrays a wide-eyed figure, smiling toothily and gripping a bottle of "Vitameatavegamin," a reference to a joke from the sitcom.
They don't even need to change the Lucille Ball statue. Just move it to Pazuzu's hometown! http://t.co/wKeZghh9hG pic.twitter.com/BFl0pf5FiA— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) April 3, 2015
Poulin claims he has been attempting to rework the statue for years, but has been held back by the cost. He had originally asked Celoron officials to pay $10,000 for the fix-up effort. Poulin also wrote in the letter that he was puzzled by people's anger over a piece that was originally donated to and accepted by the community.
"Not every piece is a grand slam and my style of work is not for everyone," Poulin continued.
A Facebook group was created to call for its removal; at the time of writing, the page had almost 9,000 Likes. Memes have compared the statue to zombies from the Walking Dead and various characters from horror movies.
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Additional information from The Associated Press