"Monument to the Last Horse", A Thought

I've been thinking about this very cool poster for "The Monument to the Last Horse". Actually, in my opinion, the poster is nicer than the sculpture itself. Blasphemy!, right? I've never really cared for that piece by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Why? Well, I'm going to try to put this heretofore notion into words and see if it is even possible (probably not a smart thing to do since I'm already working uphill simply on principle for questioning such a popular sculpture.)

Two issues, the first one is easy. The base is wrong. A base at all is wrong. The large horseshoe sits upright atop a pole like a hotdog on a stick or something. The pole, in turn, is embedded into this heavy boxy mass at the bottom. The boxy part sits on the dirt. This may have been a very conscious decision, but for me I think all of this construction removes the sculpture from the site. I'd prefer to see the horseshoe lying on the ground just like you'd find it if it fell off the world's largest horse.

Second, the location is wrong – the site is diminished by its presence. "The Monument to the Last Horse" sits in the heart of the Chinati Foundation grounds, a compound that is more powerful due to the contrast with the neighboring terrain and culture. For me, Judd's project is empowered by the unexpected locale. If Chinati was in a New Jersey warehouse... well, it just wouldn't be the same place, and furthermore, the art itself wouldn’t be the same art (because, as we all know, the meaning of art is perceived and conveyed rather than illustrated.) To get to the point, the horseshoe subject matter dilutes the contrast between the minimalist art campus and the surrounding ranches (and actual horseshoes).