(Screenshot/YouTube KESQ News Channel 3)
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. | The proposed nine-foot sculpture to memorialize the victims of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, with an expected cost of approximately $500,000 designed by Southern California’s Coachella Valley-based artist Phillip K. Smith III, has generated considerable ill-will regarding its concept design.
After initial design approval by the Palm Springs city council, the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Sculpture Task Force, which was tasked with fundraising to erect the sculpture, has been met with pushback by residents and others who have taken exception to the design of resembling a donut with ridges on it.
A local news station KESQ-TV 3 reported that in addition to concerns about the abstract nature of the sculpture, some residents have raised eyebrows over its perceived resemblance to a certain body part.
“The backside of the proposed memorial looks like a graphic depiction of the backside of a human being,” Gene Brake a local resident and founder of the Jose Sarria Foundation said.
After negative public statements regarding the design including several uncharitable contributions on social media comparing it to a human anus, the Memorial Task Force, wrote in a letter to local residents, “Please know that we’ve heard the concerns … and a revised design is in process.”
According to the its letter, the Memorial Task Force will reveal the new design later this year.
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