Heart of the Art / Photo Cafe: Porkopolis' Pigmania

 

The "Swine Lake" statue hogs the facade of the Cincinnati Ballet. 

Shortly after moving to Cincinnati, I began noticing pig statues everywhere -- downtown, atop buildings along Interstate 75, in front of restaurants, and inside businesses. The unusual sites made driving around the city much more interesting, but I couldn't help wondering -- why pigs?
Well, according to my research, Cincy hosted a public art exhibit back in 2000 called the "Big Pig Gig." As a fundraiser for the ArtWorks organization, local artists decorated fiberglass squealers that were later auctioned. Although the event was supposedly based on a Swiss cow display, it was fitting for Cincinnati to use pigs because of a history hog-tied to pork and resulting nickname -- Porkopolis. So from a fiberglass pigpen to being a "boar" on Cincy streets, the big pigs are an endearing element in the Queen City landscape.
Click http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/ to learn about ArtWorks.


"The Days of Swine and Roses" is a mosaic mirrored pig, holding a wine bottle and white wine glass. Other Cincy "Big Pig" statues.