Lucille Ball statues by Carolyn Palmer (L) and Dave Poulin (R)
Remember that terrifying “I Love Lucy” sculpture upstate? Lucille Ball’s hometown of Celoron, N.Y. erected the statue by Dave Poulin in 2009, and pretty much everyone hated it. Even the sculptor told the Los Angeles Times “From the day of its installation, I have shared my disappointment in the final outcome and have always believed it to be by far my most unsettling sculpture.” Unsettling, perhaps, because it looks like Steve Buscemi as a meth-addled drag queen chugging a flask in the park:
Fortunately for fans of Lucy, New Jersey/Hudson Valley-based sculptor Carolyn Palmer beat out 67 artists for the commission to replace “Scary Lucy,” with “Lovable Lucy,” a moniker Palmer used in an email to AFC. Truthfully, isn’t it also a little creepy?
But Dave Poulin’s original “Scary Lucy” hasn’t been evicted from Lucille Ball Memorial Park, just moved from a less prominent location. That’s in part because the creepy statue has become an internet sensation that draws tourists to the small town. So now, visitors can compare both—bringing to mind a certain PSA about the dangers of drug use that’s become a viral meme in its own right.
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