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Image Submitted to the Argus Leader

Looks a lot like this famous landmark

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While I support public art, I wonder how much money the public will be ponying up for this project;

The Arc of Dreams will start fundraising with an initial goal of $650,000 that will allow Lamphere to start sculpting. An additional $300,000 will be needed for landscaping and foundation work.

300K for the foundation and landscaping. Get your wallets out tax payer of Sioux Falls, this is gonna cost you.

By l3wis

19 thoughts on “Welcome to Baghdad, South Dakota”
  1. Wow, Saddam inspired kitsch.

    Will Raven be donating a safety net to catch all the lil’ dreamers who try to climb up it?

  2. Is there any way this can be stopped? Art is one thing but you have to be living under a rock to not see the similarities with Saddam’s swords.

  3. Instead of paying more to get these young professionals, let’s build this thing. Yeah, that will be a great recruiting tool.

  4. This is just stupid. Better not be one dollar of taxpayer money in this Didn’t fiddle faddle say no one should benefit. Maybe the city will sell some McDonald burgers to draw them into the city. It’d hideous. Oh gees closer to the billion dollars in debt. Thanks mmm

  5. Actually, I like it, and Dale is a very good artist. I find it a bit ironic though that KELO just did a feature on Dale a couple of days ago.

    I think if the business community pulls out some of their moldy money and gives 100% towards the project and gifts it to the city, I think that is great. But we know how this works 🙁

    It reminds me of a story I did for ETC. magazine years ago about Fawick giving David and how they let it sit in storage for years, finally Fawick had to buy the pedestal for it because the city wouldn’t pony up. Fawick was angry about it until his death.

  6. I like it too and I don’t see the resemblance to the Baghad piece. I remember when the Statute of David was brought in to Sioux Falls much to the disapproval of the public. I liked it, of course, having seen the one in Florence. Sioux Falls is a conservative community and tends to resist dramatic changes.

  7. Thats exactly what I was reminded of when I seen the news. Every dictator needs his pointy sculpture.

  8. How about a 5 – story statue of Huether we can pull over with chains once his empire collapses. I wanna be the one to find him hiding in a sump hole.

  9. Curious how they are going to pull this off for a million. While Dale has done some large pieces before, he will have to bring an engineer on this one. The counter balance and foundations will have to be deep and heavy. You have to take into account that the arc will not be tied together so it will have to resist the SD wind and elements. It would also be cool if the arc was some how aligned with the sun to make a massive sun dial. Can’t wait to start watching them build the support and foundation for these arcs. It also amazes me that a town with so many working class stiffs our wealthy of the community have money for something like this. But trust me, this project will get money from city coffers.

  10. I figure if this goes through the city taxpayers will be footing a good portion of this “masterpiece.” My first thought the first time I saw the picture was that it looked like they are trying to imitate the St. Louis Arch.

  11. It wasn’t the people of Sioux Falls upset with the statue of David, it was the puritans at Augustana who did not like David, because that is where David was to begin with. They didn’t like his parts showing.

  12. I like the design and idea, if we tax payers only have to foot a 3rd of the bill looks like a win to me.

  13. No images on I am guessing
    ,…we have to pay for this THEFT/piss christ ver3.0?
    In art and labor
    OBG

  14. Dan now you are killing me I have no Obamacare or anything.If I blow a bloodvessel see that I am cremated
    and remains thrown over the big lake around here that starts with an O.
    In art und labor,..
    OBG

  15. I think this is a very fitting symbol for Sioux Falls. It represents the ongoing phallic competition and compensation that is running rampant in this city.

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