Cupid's Bow

Cupid's Bow, Coated steel and fiberglass, by Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. Embarcadero, S.F.

Commissioned by Donald Fisher, the work was given to the city in 2002. Erected just shy of the bridge, south of the Ferry building, its size imposes itself in a view of the bay and bridge from one direction and on a nice mix of modern and older buildings on the other. If placed next to the Power Exchange, it might have been a clever statement, but at this location it's an out of scale monument to onanism. One wonders about the maintenance costs. It's a sixty foot span of tag-ready surfaces vs. sk8ters, sea fog, gimmies, and gulls, set off by lapsed landscaping. A gift with strings.