{"id":244100,"date":"2025-10-22T17:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/244100\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:57:09","slug":"900k-downtown-lexington-sculpture-draws-mixed-reactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/244100\/","title":{"rendered":"$900K downtown Lexington sculpture draws mixed reactions"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – If you\u2019ve been around the Fayette County Courthouse in the past few months, you may have noticed construction.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the city has commissioned the largest piece of artwork ever for Lexington.<\/p>\n

The sculpture was proudly dedicated by the city Wednesday, but some community members aren\u2019t fans of the work.<\/p>\n

Community reactions vary widely<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s nice,\u201d said one resident when asked about the piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of looks like a necklace tangled up and twisted,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting, more modern art piece. I think that art is subjective,\u201d another resident said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little abstract but I really enjoy it,\u201d said one observer.<\/p>\n

The $900,000 sculpture celebrating Lexington\u2019s 250th birthday warrants mixed reactions for people living here.<\/p>\n

The high-price-tag sculpture was unanimously approved by city council last summer. Today, it was dedicated.<\/p>\n

Artist and officials celebrate dedication<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018A Common Thread\u2019 represents a significant commitment to public art here in Lexington,\u201d said Mayor Linda Gorton.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Ball, the artist from California who was tapped to build this sculpture, said the work has deeper meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work is a loom for shared identity. A place where past and future are held together by \u2018A Common Thread,\u2019\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n

\"WKYT<\/a>Local artist questions choice and cost<\/p>\n

Local artist and resident Cassandra Vogl says all the talent needed for a project like this is already in Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would\u2019ve loved to see an art piece that was Kentucky designed and Kentucky made. We have a lot of talent here in Lexington and throughout the Bluegrass and I would have really loved to see them highlighted,\u201d Vogl said.<\/p>\n

The $900,000 price tag also is a cause for concern for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot. You know, when that\u2019s coming from public funds I\u2019d like to see public input at a price tag that high,\u201d Vogl said.<\/p>\n

Some residents just appreciate the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt costs a lot so the price tag doesn\u2019t bug me. With art, it\u2019s always nice when it\u2019s local but to be honest it\u2019s about what can make the best thing for this city? Is that a local person, a national person, an international person? I think it\u2019s okay that it can be any of those things,\u201d said Kevin Jenkins, a resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t put a price tag on art, but apparently you can!\u201d Vogl said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 WKYT. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – If you\u2019ve been around the Fayette County Courthouse in the past few months, you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,133819,133821,229,88,133818,133820,133817],"class_list":{"0":"post-244100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-benjamin-ball-artist","12":"tag-common-thread-sculpture","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-fayette-county-courthouse-sculpture","16":"tag-lexington-250th-birthday","17":"tag-lexington-public-art"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}