What's this new sculpture people are crowing about?
Newly installed sculpture of dead crow is made from used tires
A new piece of public art on LeBreton Flats is ruffling some feathers.
When the Rubber Meets the Road, a five-metre-long dead crow skillfully constructed from discarded tires, lays near the bike path a few hundred metres west of the Pimisi LRT station.
It was installed Tuesday.
The National Capital Commission (NCC)'s rented artwork looks like supersized roadkill — and it's meant to.
On Wednesday, Hintonburg resident James Howell stopped to read the panel explaining the piece.
"This large crow lies flat on the ground in a manner that resembles roadkill, symbolizing the collision between human and natural worlds," read Howell, as he stroked his beard.
"That's an amazing piece of artwork," he added.
Well-worn Goodyears and Firestones have been cut and screwed together in layers to create the effect of the beak, legs and plumage of an American crow.
Under the neck, shorter curved sections of rubber taken from tire sidewalls create the characteristic ruffles. The smooth inside surfaces of tires are used as tail feathers for contrasting texture.
Aggressive mountain bike tires have been fashioned into legs to create a realistic figure of a crow laying dead on its back.
Piece about risk, relationship to nature
"It's portraying something that is dead, so that's not always pretty," said the sculpture's creator, Prince Edward Island artist Gerald Beaulieu.
He said he chose the clever, scavenging crow carefully, hoping to create an allegory about a creature that often survives on roadkill, but sometimes becomes it.
"The piece is a lot about risk and reward and our relationship to nature and how we approach that — especially with our current environmental crisis."
The NCC is paying $14,022 to rent the sculpture for a year in line with rates recommended by Canadian Artists' Representation, a national group that advocates for fair dealing with artists.
One tweet asked, "You paid someone money for that?" and got some traction — but online critics may find themselves eating crow.
In person, passersby found the impact of the sculpture undeniable.
"Some of the comments were like, 'Oh this is so ugly,' so I thought I had to see it for myself," said Sonja McKay. "It might not impress everyone, but I appreciate it."
Nearby resident Katie Walsh reflected on its placement next to a bike path and the LRT tracks.
"In terms of global warming, we have all these forest fires to [be conscious of] in terms of what you are doing to get around," Walsh said.
Beaulieu said that since he first displayed the sculpture five years ago he has watched people climb, dance and hold yoga classes on the crow.
For him, all of these are acceptable ways to interact with his art.
"The worst outcome for a piece of public art is that it's not noticed," he said.
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