Nice to see the child in the photo to give the sense of the size .... It's a big piece of art work ..

And the authors refer to it as "infamous." Pah-leeze. Get a grip—or at least get a dictionary.

It's a lot nicer statue than the one we have downtown. The "art" in this town is a huge fire hydrant that has been hit, and water is coming out. Some people call that art. At least the kiss is showing some human interaction.

jack from Jax,

"Nowhere in the article does it say anything about Controversial as your headline states. What's up with that?"

They did mention in the last few lines of the article that it is controversial among art lovers, but the people love it. Otherwise, I agree with you. Did anyone notice that sailor's neck, though? It doesn't look quite right to me. It kind of bulges out in back, and the bottom of it is much thinner than the rest.

@Mickey - I think what you are seeing with the neck is the white collar on his uniform. Because the photo is a little overexposed, the white collar blends in with the sky in the background so it is pretty much impossible to distinguish in the photo. I do not know why anyone would call this statue controversial. It may not be seen as art by some stuck up, pretentious art critics, but it is definitely art. There is nothing controversial about the statue itself, it represents one of the most famous photographs ever taken.

JS in SD- that's Popeye,The Sailorman.

“Art lovers don’t love it but the people love it and that’s what counts,” he said.

This is perhaps the best quote for this statue. The goal of any art, architecture, design, etc. is to let others appreciate it, right? And if the people love it, then it's successful. If you are making something because you feel only you and your tight nit professional group are the only ones who truly appreciate it, then you really are just conceded.

I'm gonna keep that quote. I'm getting my masters degree in Landscape Architecture in just a few months, and this defines public spaces.

I like it. Two thumbs up.

I want one in my front yard...I could charge admission. But $1 million...really?

They have one similar in San Francisco only its two dudes getting it on.

King Putt - References or put a sock in it.

no more filbert.

I wish you the best. Great career choice.

Art will always be controversial, and "public art" even more so because the appreciation of art is so individual. But the controversy is arguably just as important as the art itself; because it forces us to engage, and engaging with one another is a vital part of being human.

Art is important for mankind. It has always been so. It's in our DNA. So much of what we know of the earliest humans is from the cave art and petroglyphs and carvings and sculpture which has survived over the millennia to show us our origins, and confirm our natures.

Public art is a statement of who we are today, not because we universally like or appreciate an individual work of art, but because we support cultural and artistic expression and seek to leave a legacy marking our short time on this planet; our way of saying to those who will inherit the Earth after we are gone, ... "We were here; and this was who we were."

To believe that CA or even San Diego will crack off and fall into the ocean is absurd. Japan sits along a deep trench. It had an 8.9 and didn't fall into the ocean. We had a 7.2 three years ago from a faultline in Mexico and it barely did any damage here.

IF we had a large earthquake on one of our faults it will certainly do a lot of damage and maybe some of the multi-million dollar homes in La Jolla wouldn't be there any longer, but it's for damned sure the city isn't going to slide into the ocean.

Too bad the girl is not in a tight top...

People are generally happy when a war ends .. and one that ends in victory ... is a particularly pleasing event!

As I recall ... this was our last victory at war ...and people were happy the death & destruction was over ... and was the beginning of a economic boom period ...

IndependentThink, It belongs in San Diego because of the Naval Base / Port and their citizens PAID for it. Agent Orange was Vietnam so your have you decades confused. It was wonderful to those service people because the brutal Pacific war was won and they were finally home. I hope you are "enlightened" now. You were probably one of those booing gay service men and women so there is not much hope for you.

This is an awesome display and shows what a community can do with a good cause. A+ to all of you.

moonbeamracer,

"and was the beginning of a economic boom period ..."

And it was also the beginning of an endless series of smaller wars (Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), but those people celebrating the end of WWII were blissfully ignorant of that.

The only thing that is screwed up is your thinking........

"And it was also the beginning of an endless series of smaller wars (Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), but those people celebrating the end of WWII were blissfully ignorant of that."

This makes absolutely no sense. Does this mean that you too are ignorant because you are not talking about events happening 10, 20 and 50 years in the future now?

The actual event of a sailor kissing a nurse during a celebration of the end of WW2 was photographed in Times Square in New York city. It wasn't a romantic kiss, as many want to believe now, as the sailor was drunk and the nurse was a complete stranger. And it has nothing to do with San Diego.

Independent Thinker, What are you thinking independently of, your brain?

no more filbert,

"Does this mean that you too are ignorant because you are not talking about events happening 10, 20 and 50 years in the future now?"

Of course it does. Do you know what is going to happen 10, 20 or 50 years from now? No? Then you are ignorant of what is going to happen. The word "ignorant" come from the Latin word "ignoro", meaning "I don't know". Being ignorant doesn't mean you are ignorant of everything; that you now nothing at all. In this particular case it simply means you are ignorant of what is going to happen in the future unless, of course, you are clairvoyant. Are you clairvoyant?

This guy is implying that because they did not understand the numerous wars to happen after WWII, and that they are celebrating the costliest war in the history of mankind, that they are ignorant of that fact. This is what he is talking about.

Also, ignorant, though derived from ignore, is more specific in nature, as it means "Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular"

I will be back on to this site in 50 years calling you ignorant for not mentioning whatever has happened since.

Sure, I'm clairvoyant. Give me all your money, and I'll invest it "wisely" for you. :)

no more filbert,

"This guy is implying that because they did not understand the numerous wars to happen after WWII, and that they are celebrating the costliest war in the history of mankind, that they are ignorant of that fact. This is what he is talking about."

No. That is not what I am talking about. I said they were blissfully ignorant of the smaller wars that would follow WWII. How could they possibly have been ignorant of the fact that they were celebrating the end of WWII?

"Also, ignorant, though derived from ignore, is more specific in nature, as it means "Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular"

That's it! Now you've got it! Exactly! You are ignorant of anything you don't know or are unaware of at a particular time. For example, if you can't speak Chinese, you are ignorant of Chinese, but if, at some later date, you learn Chinese, you will no longer be ignorant of it. That's the whole idea behind learning. We learn things we are ignorant of so that we will no longer be ignorant of them. You and I are ignorant of all sorts of things right now, but we can learn them and won't have to be ignorant of them anymore. All I was saying was that these people who were celebrating the end of WWII were blissfully ignorant of the smaller wars that were to follow it. How could they have known? I think you misunderstood me and thought I was blaming them for not knowing what was to come because they were stupid. I was not.

You can't be ignorant of something that hasn't happened yet, as you would not have had the opportunity to "ignore".

Lacking knowledge of something that hasn't happened yet would apply only to a psychic.

Hey Stinkerer - Maybe it deserves to be in San Diego cause it's a Navy Town. I remember when I got out of the Navy In San Diego I had to wait till I got all the way back to Michigan for my Kiss.

Some of us stayed loyal to our Spouses. What makes you think you know that I didn't? Oh I forgot you are a Republican and you know everything. NOT!

Maybe I didn't like the Joke. Maybe if you were over 4 years old and maybe served in the Armed Forces you would be more germane.

If you served in 2 wars than my thanks to you. Why does the gay community have to stand for equal rights? Shouldn't they have them? By the way after reading remarks on these comment section I seem to have lost my sense of humor.

But why should they not be allowed to be a couple?

Independent Thinker? -- An identical copy of the statue stood there for five years until last year. If it hasn't happened yet why do you think it will happen now? It is a great draw for a public park near the cruise ship piers and US Navy Museum on the carrier Midway.

The 'controversy' seems to all be in the comments today

Well said Bill.

If NBC has editors, it must be that those positions are strictly honorary - Except for that editing of the Zimmerman 911 call.

No, they have decided to embrace the whole 'self publish' trend. Editors and proof readers would just slow down their ability to post a headline with no facts to back it up. Nice thing about a website. We can always fill in those pesky details later. And they do...all the time. But hey we got that click on the headline to show marketing....

Generals at the time were estimating +100K casualties to invade Japan. The Japanese had been propagandized into believing we were animals that would be raping and murdering our way through the country. We had already encountered the kind of fanatical behavior this kind of brainwashing could induce on our island hopping campaign. In a time of war we decided a 100K of them and 0 of us was a better deal. Demonstrating the bomb to Russia was seen as an added benefit but the cost of the invasion is what really drove the decision. At least most historians contend this but then we would be biased wouldn't we.

culheath ~~~> ~~~> ~~~> In the late fifties, I visited the then new museum in Hiroshima. It displayed, in all its horror, the bombing. Then, it went on to state (Of course, I paraphrase.) that horrible as the bombing was, it actually had a bright side, because, by leading the Japanese {{{Remember, it was Japanese saying this}}} to surrender, it prevented the later GREATER carnage which would have taken place had the Allies actually landed on the beaches, ala The European Theatre, thus saving a far greater number of Japanese and Allied lives. In recent years, I have often wondered if, by now, the Japanese stuck to their guns or if they have caved into politeral correctness and tried to rewrite history. *** Would someone who has recently visited this museum enlighten me ???

Matilda, that's interesting. Wonder what it says these days. Were we still running things then or had we turned the country back over?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I worried about the restoration and return of Sarasota's statue as well.

The nurse who was getting kissed had no clue who this guy was. She hauled off and decked him immediately after this photograph was taken.

No, she didn't. They went their separate ways and probably had a funny story to tell their friends later.

At DIA in Denver we have a twenty foot bright blue horse with red eyes(yuck!). People wish it would fade. Fortunately the 5 years, 'no petition to remove' period has expired so hopefully it will be gone soon.

It looks like it's made from a product called 'Magic-Sculpt' ( a molding compound I've worked with on a couple of smaller outdoor 'public arts' projects ). Look for the company's website, and there should be a huge gallery of finished examples. The stuff comes in 2 resins ( a clay & the hardener ), and when combined in equal amounts........dry 'rock-hard' within about 24 hrs. It's made to stand up to the 'elements'.....A lot of fun to work with, but is best worked with in small handfuls at a time because of it's characteristics ( your hands get VERY worn out trying to mix the 2 resins together....). The stuff costs about $50-$60 for a 10 lb bucket, from what I remember. You know the huge sculpture of the baseball glove at Pac-Bell ( or At&T ) Park in SanFrancisco? That's made of 'Magic-Sculpt'. It's also used by a lot of set designers in Hollywood. Once you've covered the underlying 'frame' ( which at a handful-at-a-time, would've taken quite a few weeks/months )....it would be coated with gesso ( a primer coat )....followed by the paint. We were told to use acrylic......certain colors hold up better in the sunlight....and then the whole thing would be covered with a clearcote. One of the 'public arts' projects ( which was a fundraiser ) was peanutsonparade.com. I'm sure they still have an active website featuring some examples.

Some would say the sailboats detract from the beauty of the water. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Living here I would much rather see this and know what it is rather than more of that other stuff by it. And I suppose you like the pile of red pick-up sticks at Gulfsteam and 41 over this also? Please.

Yeah, in 1945 when sexual harassment was a way of life and not a PC term. It's a classic photo that captures the joy and relief of a nation at the end of the worlds largest conflict. I'm pretty sure it didn't end up in court.

Did you live through WWII .... if not ... then shut up, your showing your total lack of understanding of the times.

Yay. Another freak libber heard from. Sexual harassment my hind end. Jealous much?

If you knew my politics you'd probably call me a liberal and I countered that B.S. There are stupid people of all stripes so let's not jump to conclusions.

Aurelia,

Yes, isn't it GRAND!?

I seem to remember an interview with this lady. She said to the effect (paraphrasing) "He was very strong, but what could I do about it?"

Sexual harassment? Mildly annoying? Wonder what she was thinking (the guy obviously wasn't)?

Again, it was different time with different values and mores and the phrase 'sexual harassment' had never been uttered. Ask a women who lived at the time how even they were more tolerant of this behavior at the time. They will also tell you how doing their husbands jobs in the factories helped to give them a sense of independence and self reliance that changed their attitudes forever and helped to kick off the sexual revolution.

Yeah....already posted my disappointment....

Big difference between KISS and "the Kiss"

Thank You! WERE NOT WORTHY!

agree with you there. Looks like a Mardi Gras float............

That's why it looks like a Pinata! Thank you. I was trying to figure that out. Actually I just thought someone left a float out after a parade. And I thought 'what's the big deal, why don't they just drive it away?' Now they can just smash it and get the candy. Simple.

Some would argue that the events were too important to be 'honored' by cheesy art. I would argue that the 'artist' honored the event just by the time and effort spent regardless of the results but that doesn't really extend to displaying the results in a public place. It's all subjective. To me it looks like a parade float and kind of strikes me as insulting to the original photo. Unless it was done by the local high school in which case... it's great!

Obviously you did not read the story.....your "FUN FACT" is more like HUGE LIE.

Don't believe everything you see on the Simpsons....