By Jack Miles & Douglas McLennan
Editor’s Note: From a humble exhibit on the streets of Zurich in 1999, the artist-decorated fiberglass animals-on-parade concept has swept the US. Why? Some say it's because the public has fallen in love with them. Others contend it's for the money (Chicago raised $3 million selling its cows, and other cities have been clamoring for a piece of the action ever since.) But maybe someone should take a hard look at the Swiss. They may seem harmless, but consider the evidence:
This is the town of Zurich.
These are the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the pigs that Ohio made
To rattle the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the beagles that St. Paul made
To worry the pigs that Ohio made
To rattle the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the bunnies that Michigan made
To baffle the beagles that St. Paul made
To worry the pigs that Ohio made
To rattle the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the cornstalks that Bloomington made
To shelter the bunnies that Michigan made
To baffle the beagles that St. Paul made
To worry the pigs that Ohio made
To rattle the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
These are the flamingos that Miami made
To tutor the mermaids that Norfolk made
To ride on the horses that Lexington made
To graze on the cornstalks that Bloomington made
To shelter the bunnies that Michigan made
To baffle the beagles that St. Paul made
To worry the pigs that Ohio made
To rattle the moose that Toronto made
To trample the cows that Manhattan made
To humble the cows that Chicago made
To rival the cows that the sculptors made
To stand in the town of Zurich.
~
The list lengthens by the day. Next major stop for the thundering herd: London, England, summer, 2001, and yet a fourth apotheosis of the indomitable cow—unless, that is, Cow Parade Holding AG, Zurich, succeeds in its intellectual property lawsuit against Cow Parade Holding Ltd., UK, a subsidiary of Cow Parade Holding, Inc., USA.
Meanwhile, the report of a new strain of foot-and-mouth disease attacking only animal statues turns out to be a hoax, the creation, it seems, of a certain fun-hating Australian critic.
Additional Reading: Our Animals-on-Parade archives
Letters, opinions, reactions, suggestions?
Send your e-mail to mclennan@artsjournal.com
