Survey Reveals: America’s Ugliest Public Art [2025]

When public art works, it becomes part of a city’s identity - think the “Bean” in Chicago or LOVE in Philadelphia.

But when it doesn’t, the results can be baffling, funny, or flat-out embarrassing. Our recent poll of America’s “ugliest” public art shows just how often intention and execution part ways.

The results aren’t just a gallery of oddities - they reveal patterns about what people love to hate when it comes to civic sculpture.

Here are the full rankings.

Key Findings

Public taste has no borders.

From Alabama to Hawaii, the list shows that “ugly” art isn’t a regional quirk - every corner of the country has a piece that locals grumble about.

What is striking is that small towns (like Enterprise, Alabama, with the Boll Weevil Monument) rank right alongside cultural powerhouses like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

In other words, questionable design decisions are a national equalizer.

Insects, animals, and oversized objects dominate.

The survey is packed with creatures that don’t quite translate into art.

Giant bugs (Providence’s Big Blue Bug, Stillwater’s Bumblebee Transformer), awkward animals (Wyoming’s Jackalope, Kentucky’s Pink Elephant, Minnesota’s oversized Walleye), and mundane objects blown up to massive scale (Philadelphia’s Clothespin, Cleveland’s Free Stamp) show how often “big” is mistaken for “better.”

Utah stands out for repeat offenders.

Three separate Utah entries - the Giant Metal Spider, Joseph Smith Sphinx, and the Tree of Utah - cut, suggesting the state has a knack for ambitious but divisive projects.

It’s the only state to appear so many times, hinting at a uniquely bold, if not always beloved, public art culture.

Statues of people rarely get a pass.

When artists attempt to capture famous figures, the results are often brutal.

“Scary Lucy” in New York is infamous, but she’s not alone - Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Washington D.C.’s Walter Johnson, and even Harry Caray in Chicago all appear on the list.

The takeaway? Human likeness is the hardest trick to pull off, and mistakes are instantly obvious.

Roadside kitsch has its own lane.

Some entries feel less like “art” and more like giant billboards.

The Peachoid in South Carolina, PistachioLand in New Mexico, and the enormous turkey in Hartford, Connecticut, blur the line between sculpture and marketing gimmick.

They may be ugly, but they’re also local landmarks in their own right.

Final Thoughts

Art has always divided opinion, and public art is no different – but that is part of its value.

These “ugliest” pieces often end up as beloved oddities, the kind of landmarks people give directions by or pose with ironically.

They say that beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but so-called ‘ugliness’, it seems, has a way of uniting people, too.