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Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Pig art display will be hog-gone
Big Pig Gig's fiberglass sculptures poked gentle fun at popular culture icons
Scripps Howard News Service
CINCINNATI - The Big Pig Gig, a public art display featuring 420 fiberglass pigs with such names as "Porkemon" and "Toyota Hamry," is ready for its swine song. After five months of charming Cincinnati residents and visitors with their artistic diversity and curly tails, many of the four-foot-long piggies are going to e-market.
   The first lot of pigs will hit the online auction block Wednesday at eBay, with additional lots being auctioned through Nov. 11. Each lot will be sold over a period of eight days.
   The eBay auction will feature 169 pigs with national appeal, including "Paganini Pig," "ScrippSOWard," the "Fifth Third Piggy Bank," and "Angel," the Breast Cancer Angels pig.
   A lesser number of pigs with local appeal will hog the spotlight at a local auction, Nov. 13, at Cincinnati's Music Hall.
   The Big Pig Gig, inspired by the displays of decorated cows in Zurich and Chicago, was Cincinnati's largest display of public art in memory. Though initially greeted by skeptics, it reawakened the city's appreciation for its artistic core while sending the message nationally that the Queen City is more than just a baseball town.
   The pigs also proved that the city once dubbed "Porkopolis" has come to terms, humorously, with its porcine past.
   Cincinnati was the country's leading meat-packing center during the first half of the 19th century.
   "I think it made the city aware of art and made them realize how many good artists we have here," said Phyllis Weston, art gallery director at Closson's.
   "I think nationally it made people think of Cincinnati as the great art center that it is. We did have people from out of town come in to see the pigs. Many would come to the (Closson's) gallery and talk about how wonderful the pigs were."
   Half of the proceeds from each pig will go to Artworks, the Cincinnati-based arts education organization that coordinated the gig.
   The other half will go to a charity of the sponsor's choice. About 150 charities will benefit.

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