Monument au Fantome

I love that we have random pieces of art around the city. It adds so much to the personality of a city when it isn’t just buildings. There are some truly great pieces of art around town as well as some «where were they thinking?» ones… I’d say this is somewhere in the middle. I like that this piece is so large. I remember it distinctly from my childhood when it was positioned downtown on Louisiana. I always wondered what the heck the thing was about then and I don’t think I have a clearer picture now. Now, it’s right in front of Discovery Green across from the George R Brown convention center. More than anything, it’s there to break up the landscape and provide something to look at/​talk about, but as far as art, it doesn’t hold much interest for me.
If you are at GRB or Discovery Green, check it out. It’s large and can make an interesting photo op.

You can hide, You can pose, but You can’t climb!

The Monument au Fantome stands at the edge of Discovery Green park, on the Avenida De Las Americas side, right next to the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB). I suspect that the placement of the Monument right next to the GRB was not unintentional – both are blue, red, white, and black.
With its odd shaping and fantastic colors, the Monument’s pieces look like the mad creations of Beetlejuice or Candyland-​colored coral. Digging around the internet,* I discovered that the Monument au Fantome was created between 1969 and 1971 by French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet (if you inspect the sculpture, you’ll find his signature along with the year 1983). The Monument is split up into seven pieces – the hedge, the chimney, the dog, the phantom, the tree, the mast, and the church. Honestly, I can’t tell which one is which; one of you will have to meet me out there and help me.
When I was a kid with my family on our way to a show or something in the theater district, I remember passing by the Monument when it was at its old location, 1100 Louisiana. I always thought that it looked cool and liked that it didn’t look like anything else I had seen before.
Because it’s one of the first images that pops into my mind when I think of Houston and what makes this city distinct, I give it five stars.
Check it out. Touch it. Just don’t climb it… at least that’s what a sign warns not to do.
*-http://​www​.dis​cov​ery​green​.com/​e​n​/​r​e​l​/110/