Mayors Goodman “Honored” With Mortifying Statue and Nobody’s Talking About It
Art is subjective, but a recently-unveiled statue “honoring” former Las Vegas mayors Oscar and Carolyn Goodman is objectively worse than being jabbed in the eye with a syringe full of molten lava.
Las Vegas is known to have aggressively awful public art, but this trainwreck makes the Goodmans, mayors of Las Vegas for a quarter century between them (he did 12 years, she did 13), look like Colonel Sanders and Fiona from “Shrek.”
The artist responsible for this disrespectful disaster, Brian Hanlon, should be forced to refund the $750,000 he was paid, the sculpture should be scrapped and some elementary school kid should make a new one because it would have to be better than this clusterfailery.
The 11-foot-tall statue of Oscar and Carolyn Goodman was first revealed Nov. 26, 2024 at Las Vegas City Hall.
There was a lot of hoopla.
We can only imagine the crowd in attendance was as stupefied as we were when first saw this monumental hot mess. Apparently, nobody said anything, presumably because the Goodmans are beloved and the unveiling was all about showing respect and appreciation for their years of public service.
We love and respect the Goodmans, too, which is why we’ll say it: They deserve better.
Carolyn Goodman is unrecognizable in this pitiful attempt at art.
Oscar Goodman’s likeness is a little bit better, but not by a lot.
Presumably, it’s a better approximation to Oscar Goodman because the artist has had some practice with Oscar Goodman. Hanlon did another sculpture of Oscar Goodman on display at the Historic Fifth Street School, wherever that might actually be.
Somebody should’ve raised a red flag about commissioning Hanlon for this gig as he was responsible for another botched sculpture of Oscar Goodman inside Oscar’s Steakhouse at Plaza.
It’s as if Hanlon does all his sculpting with a Shake Weight while riding on a commercial airliner during heavy turbulence while wearing a blindfold.
Seriously, this drawing on the wall of Oscar’s looks more like Oscar than the statue at City Hall.
Hanlon also did the Jerry Tarkanian statue at UNLV. Also a bust, but Tarkanian’s face is partially covered with a towel to avoid people noticing what a dud it is.
As if Hanlon knew his work would be deemed “peak suck,” he did an interview with the local news, explaining, “We had six months to do a sculpture that takes 18 months to build.” Honestly, it looks like it.
How did this statue come to exist? Who signed off? How has nobody stated publicly how awkward it is, along with being supremely disrespectful to the Goodmans and their legacy?
The statue was paid for by something called the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life. The people who donated to whatever that is (“an independent nonprofit that supports city programs and initiatives”) should ask to speak to a manager, or at least look into the market rate for tar and feathers.
The statue has a written message on its base: “In recognition and gratitude for your 25 years of exceptional leadership and dedication, elevating Las Vegas to new heights.”
The Goodmans did a lot to improve downtown (mayors oversee the City of Las Vegas, which doesn’t include The Strip, that’s Clark County, which doesn’t have a mayor), and these affable folks are a one-two punch of Las Vegas cheerleading and memorable quotes, both good and cringey, but entirely unforgettable.
Oscar Goodman created a brand that transcended the somewhat boring job of mayor, representing mobsters as a lawyer, then saying vandals who use graffiti to deface property should have their thumbs cut off on television. He sort of wasn’t joking.
Like we said, a statue is appropriate, but the one they got? It’s right up there with some of the worst celebrity statues, ever.
Stories about piss-poor depictions of notables like Dwyane Wade and Cristiano Renaldo have gotten worldwide attention. Here are more examples of statue debacles.
The statue of the Goodmans is like the prank Sofia Vergara played on Simon Cowell, but this isn’t, you know, funny.
The Goodmans have been the face of Las Vegas for 25 years, they deserve to have recognizable faces on public art intended to honor them.
We trust the Goodmans are too classy to say their statue should be given a do-over by somebody who will do their 25 years of selfless dedication and leadership justice.
They didn’t even say anything when their bobbleheads were botched!
Again, who’s approving these things?
Here’s more about the Goodmans and their contributions to downtown.
The idea of a statue of the Goodmans was a wonderful gesture. The next wonderful gesture should be the revocation of “artist” Brian Hanlon’s license to carve. We assume that’s a thing.
Stop paying this person for bad art.
And start increasing funding of education in Nevada so people can learn art history so they can discern good art from atrocious art. What gives us the right to say what’s good art or bad? It’s a little something called a Liberal Arts degree. “Arts” is right in the name of it, hello.
We have also been the subject of great art.
Fun fact: Majestic Rep is home to one of the most valuable pieces of art in the world. https://t.co/79oh0iM2v1 pic.twitter.com/AEBOM1NWuQ
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) December 9, 2024
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. There’s a new Las Vegas art museum in the works. We shared the news about the museum, being driven by the efforts of Elaine Wynn, months before it was announced, of course.
The Las Vegas Museum of Art (LVMA) will be downtown, in Symphony Park, one of the areas where the Goodmans have had a lot of impact in terms of facilitating development. The museum is expected to open in 2028.
The Las Vegas Museum of Art will be a must-visit. It won’t compare to museums in real cities, but it will have actual art, unlike the testament to talentlessness currently outside Las Vegas City Hall.
The pigeons have a new target, and their droppings can only improve this failed attempt at paying tribute to two Las Vegas legends.
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