Public sculptures can get people pretty hot under the collar. Much more than murals, billboards and even graffiti, statues take the heat for a number of reasons. Of course the number one reason is that it's public money paying for these things and they don't come cheap. It's not for nothing that bronze is called the regal medium.
In Tucson, though, a free statue almost caused an international incident in 1981. It was given to the city by the Mexican Press Club. It could have been partially a joke, but it was serioius business, too, and the city had no choice but to cheerfully accept the statue of Pancho Villa on a rearing horse. It's not a bad piece at all. As a matter of fact, it really expresses the wild west and strong legends very well. It even looks like Villa's pictures.
Problem was, there were still a lot of rancher's families alive who had been around when Villa scoured the borders in the 20's. His band wasn't particularly polite- as a matter of fact, they could be pretty vicious. His memory was raw to these older folk and they raised a NIMBY ruckus. They battered government doors with cries that the villian didn't belong among decent folk in the city, no matter where he came from. Things were touch and go.
 (Photo by Jamie Manser)
Solution was that the city raised him in a pocket park downtown, almost completely surrounded by trees and bounded by fast traffic on either side. The first night he was there, someone painted a yellow stripe down his back. The ruckus eventually died down and a cross-border crisis was avoided. You can see him if you look fast, or get stopped by the red light right next to his park.
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