APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Right off the Oneida Street Bridge is a familiar sight. The Fox River Oracle stands to welcome drivers into downtown Appleton.
“This piece was built for this specific location, as most public artworks are, it’s meant to be a gateway and that’s why you see visual passages through the work,” said Alex Schultz, Co-Chair of Sculpture Valley. “It was meant to represent the gateway to getting to downtown, and the gateway to Appleton.”
The sculpture, commissioned from world renowned artist Dimitri Hadzi, was dedicated in 1987.
Even at its inception, it faced criticism, with some likening it to an unseemly horse or just a pile of rocks.
“Everyone who knows this piece knows the controversy behind it, and some of the interpretations that people have,” Schultz said. “I think part of that is the fact it took three years for the artist to complete the work.”
But for some artists, such as Lawrence University Professor Rob Neilson, that means the art is effective.
We do have opinions about this. People love it, people hate it, people don’t understand it, people do understand it, people think it’s ugly. Maybe it is ugly, there’s no rule. Trust me, I’m a trained professional, there’s no rule that says sculpture has to be pretty.
Those who live in Appleton and may not remember the initial controversy, like Megan Kitzman, seem to agree.
“It invokes a feeling. I’m not sure which one it is. But maybe that’s what the artist intended!” she said.
In a recent poll by Rivers Art, the sculpture ranked 68th in the top 100 “Ugliest Public Art in America.”
Something Neilson said should be worn as a badge of honor.
“I’m hoping it’s 68 with a bullet, I’m hoping it moves up the list. Someone said, all press is good press, right?”
The Fox River Oracle will continue welcoming visitors to downtown Appleton, as it has for the past 38 years.
