Greater Greater Washington has been following the selection process for a planned public art installation that’s going in at the northeast corner of 18th and Columbia Road for at least a few months now, so we tip our hats to them for first drawing our attention to it. Despite the call for artists having been initiated over a year ago, a list of semi-finalists having been selected back in March, a community survey posted online at the end of April, and a decision on the artist made in June, the thing simply managed to go largely under our radar until Friday, when GGW posted an announcement that the selection had been finalized. The chosen artist, James Simon, is planning a large set piece of statues called “The Bicycle Musician,” depicting a musician playing a guitar while perched on a bicycle, with a little dog looking up at him. It hasn’t been a popular choice with everyone. Writes David Alpert:

Many residents dislike the piece, and KCA President Denis James editorialized against it. It was my least favorite of the three, as well, and doesn’t provide seating while the other two do. In our poll, it came in last.

Selecting public art has got to be one of the most frustrating jobs in government. There’s no way everyone is going to be happy, and you’re also stuck with choosing from among whatever proposals you get. Still, we understand why people might be put off by the rendering originally passed around and posted by GGW. It looks a bit silly, not to mention it’s clearly not to scale.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities sent over some updated renderings and scaled plans for the installation, which we’ve posted above, alongside the original image. At a minimum, the new renderings and plans make the whole thing look much less cartoonish. Also note that a couple of benches are indeed included in the plans, which has been one of the biggest complaints about the design.