Miami-Dade County

Think a giant bull makes a splash in Miami? We’ve seen it all: butts, fruit and a finger

A man and his dog ride through “Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center.
A man and his dog ride through “Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center. Miami Herald File

You may think a 3,000-pound statue of a charging bull makes a big statement for Miami.

But big statements are routine in the Magic City. After all, we’ve seen that rotating home-run sculpture at the baseball stadium, the giant painted roosters in Little Havana, a banana taped to the wall in Miami Beach.

We have seen confounding sculptures in public spaces all over South Florida, including a broken plate with scattered fruit slices in downtown Miami and large Botero butts on Lincoln Road. We’ve seen a sculpture of an extended middle finger proudly displayed in Broward by a porn king, and a precarious-looking lighthouse in South Beach.

The Miami Bull, a techno version of Wall Street’s Charging Bull, was unveiled at the Miami Beach Convention Center during Bitcoin 2022, the largest conference focused on Bitcoin.
José A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com

So, a steer with glowing blue eyes? Bring it on.

Here’s a look at some of the other bodacious and sometimes confounding works of art we have walked by and scratched our chins over:

The banana on the wall

Gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin shows off ‘Comedian,’ a work by Italian bad-boy artist Maurizio Cattelan that consists of a banana taped to the wall. The piece, one of three bananas on exhibit at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, sold for $120,000, Perrotin said.
Gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin shows off ‘Comedian,’ a work by Italian bad-boy artist Maurizio Cattelan that consists of a banana taped to the wall. The piece, one of three bananas on exhibit at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, sold for $120,000, Perrotin said. Miami Herald File

The middle finger statue

Al Goldstein, publisher of Screw Magazine, bought this giant foam statue of a hand shooting a bird to display in his backyard on the Intracoastal waterway in Pompano Beach.
Al Goldstein, publisher of Screw Magazine, bought this giant foam statue of a hand shooting a bird to display in his backyard on the Intracoastal waterway in Pompano Beach. Miami Herald File, 2008

Botero butt

A city employee cleans around an sculpture by Colombian artist Fernando Botero on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
A city employee cleans around an sculpture by Colombian artist Fernando Botero on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Pedro Portal El NUevo Herald File

Fins in a park

The Fin Project at Pelican Harbor Park in North Bay Village.
The Fin Project at Pelican Harbor Park in North Bay Village. Al Diaz Miami Herald File, 2005

Blue flamingo

Fontainebleau Hilton Engineering Department supervisors gingerly Fontainebleau hotel engineers in 2002 handle handle the newest “Art In Public Places” arrival in Miami Beach: an eight-foot Blue Flamingo ridden by singer Frank Sinatra.
Fontainebleau Hilton Engineering Department supervisors gingerly Fontainebleau hotel engineers in 2002 handle handle the newest “Art In Public Places” arrival in Miami Beach: an eight-foot Blue Flamingo ridden by singer Frank Sinatra. Miami Herald File

Pink flamingo

A giant flamingo sculpted by artist Michael Israel, is hoisted by crane at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Aventura Bouleard in 2000 to promote the Aventura Art Fest. Feb. 26 and 27. The flamingo was a preview for an upcoming art project called Flamingoes in Paradise, with the birds places throughout the county.
A giant flamingo sculpted by artist Michael Israel, is hoisted by crane at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Aventura Bouleard in 2000 to promote the Aventura Art Fest. Feb. 26 and 27. The flamingo was a preview for an upcoming art project called Flamingoes in Paradise, with the birds places throughout the county. Miami Herald File

Head ball

culptures by Ana Carolina Moreno adorn the entranceway of Palmetto Bay City Hall in 2007 as part of an Art in Public places project that the city has started.
culptures by Ana Carolina Moreno adorn the entranceway of Palmetto Bay City Hall in 2007 as part of an Art in Public places project that the city has started. Miami Herald File

Flying saucers

The “Flying Saucer Grove,” by Martha Schwartz at the Broward hockey arena in Sunrise in 1998.
The “Flying Saucer Grove,” by Martha Schwartz at the Broward hockey arena in Sunrise in 1998. Miami Herald File

Wobbly lighthouse

The unveiling of the new lighthouse public art project, created by artist, Tobias Rehberger, took place Dec. 1, 2011, at the end of the jetty in South Pointe Park in Miami Beach.
The unveiling of the new lighthouse public art project, created by artist, Tobias Rehberger, took place Dec. 1, 2011, at the end of the jetty in South Pointe Park in Miami Beach. Miami Herald File

Giant roosters

Giant rooster statues can be found all over Little Havana’s Calle Ocho and have been a popular symbol for the community.
Giant rooster statues can be found all over Little Havana’s Calle Ocho and have been a popular symbol for the community. Matias J. Ocner Miami Herald File

Scattered fruit pieces

A 4-year-old pauses to look at “Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center in 2010.
A 4-year-old pauses to look at “Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center in 2010. Miami Herald File, 2010

“Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center.
“Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels,” an Art in Public Places sculpture at the Miami-Dade County Government Center. Miami Herald File


Stadium sculpture

Red Grooms was commissioned by Miami-Dade’s Art in Public Places to create this “home run feature” for Marlins Park, a mechanized sculpture that whirred to life when the Marlins hit a home run. Derek Jeter won county permission to move it outside the ballpark, and the work of art was dismantled in late 2018.
Red Grooms was commissioned by Miami-Dade’s Art in Public Places to create this “home run feature” for Marlins Park, a mechanized sculpture that whirred to life when the Marlins hit a home run. Derek Jeter won county permission to move it outside the ballpark, and the work of art was dismantled in late 2018. Miami Herald File

Accidental public art

Discarded jack o’lanterns sink into the water of a flooded street in the Miami Shores Estates area following heavy rains and King Tide, Friday morning, November 5, 2021. Miami Shores Village had sent a Tweet out Thursday cautioning those driving in the area that flooding may occur due to King Tides November 3 through November 9th. Miami Shores Public Works employees were in the area clearing drains and pumping water from the streets.
Discarded jack o’lanterns sink into the water of a flooded street in the Miami Shores Estates area following heavy rains and King Tide, Friday morning, November 5, 2021. Miami Shores Village had sent a Tweet out Thursday cautioning those driving in the area that flooding may occur due to King Tides November 3 through November 9th. Miami Shores Public Works employees were in the area clearing drains and pumping water from the streets. Emily MIchot emichot@miamiherald.com

This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 8:31 AM.

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Jeff Kleinman
Miami Herald
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Consumer Team Editor Jeff Kleinman oversees coverage for health, shopping, real estate, tourism and recalls/scams/fraud.
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