As public-art fiascoes go, the People Project is a drunken wreck. Whatever criticisms may have appeared in this column in the past pale in comparison to the reality of this vulgar, pathetic display of a bad idea come to rotten fruition. The Regional Arts Commission and Focus St. Louis, the two nonprofit organizations who co-spawned this mutant strain of Chicago's Cows on Parade, have perpetrated a scandalous and cynical -- and potentially debt-ridden -- embarrassment on the region. Not one right decision has been made in bringing the People Project into being. Now that these hideous objects have finally made their way onto public thoroughfares, citizens of the region have to ask, "What did we do to deserve this?" Shallow in concept, bankrupt in realization -- and... More >>>