Penis Satan

Penis Satan, also called East Van Satan, was an unauthorized statue erected on September 9, 2014, in Vancouver, Canada.^[1] A life-size representation of a red devil with a large erect penis, making the sign of the horns hand gesture, the statue was erected in Clark Drive Plaza, an abandoned concrete amphitheater on the west side of Clark Drive at Grandview Highway North. It was made of mixed materials, including a modified mannequin, and was placed on an empty pedestal^[2] that previously displayed a three-foot-tall Christopher Columbus statue (honouring Angelo Branca).^[3] Vancouver commuters were able to see the statue from the Expo Line of the SkyTrain,^[4] near the East Van Cross, which is located on the opposite side of the tracks.

Penis Satan
Penis Satan. September 9, 2014, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Coordinates	49°15′59″N 123°04′40″W / 49.266347°N 123.0778735°W / 49.266347; -123.0778735

Statue removal

Local Vancouver television stations CTV Vancouver and Global BC reported the news story as City of Vancouver Public Works employees removed the statue.^[5][6] As a result, several petitions were launched requesting the City of Vancouver return the statue to its original location.^[7][8]

Art community reception

Reception from the art community was decidedly mixed, drawing strong opinions about the statue and its sexually explicit content as public art. Art market website Artnet compared the statue to "Korea's boner Spider-Man, Poland's peeing Lenin, and Oklahoma's Satanic courthouse monument."^[9]

Ammar Mahimwalla, Project Manager for the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, stated, "It was really well made as a piece, and whoever put it there did a good job of putting it in. ... With the city, sometimes, there is censorship – at some level – of what art means and what art is."

Bryan Newson, Public Art Program Manager for the City of Vancouver, commented, "It was one of those wonderful, spontaneous interventions by – I think – a prankster. ... I couldn't help laughing, obviously it could not remain in the public realm."^[10]

When asked if the Vancouver Art Gallery would have housed the statue, its spokesperson Hanah Van Borek replied, "I sincerely doubt we would ever have this on view."^[2]

Artist

In 2019, an anonymous artist with the pseudonym "Obsidian" claimed responsibility for the statue.^[2]

References

1. Moye, David (September 10, 2014). "Naked Satan Statue Has Vancouver Locals Asking, 'What The Devil?'". HuffPost. from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
2. Kurucz, John (September 9, 2019). "Five years ago, a giant statue of Satan with an erection enthralled Vancouver". Vancouver is Awesome. from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
3. O'Connor, Naoibh (October 2, 2014). "Archives: Memory loss — Clark Drive plaza sits forgotten and neglected". Vancouver Is Awesome. from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
4. "Petitions call for return of naked 'Penis Satan' after Vancouver removes lewd statue from park". National Post. Postmedia News. September 14, 2014. from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
5. "What the devil? Sexually explicit Satan statue appears in East Van". CTV Vancouver. September 9, 2014. from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
6. Meiszner, Peter (September 9, 2014). "Petition asks City of Vancouver to re-erect naked Satan statue". Global News. from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
7. Capps, Kriston (September 12, 2014). "Some in Vancouver Prefer Satan to Christopher Columbus". Bloomberg LP. from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
8. Berman, Sarah (September 11, 2014). "This Guy Started a Petition to Return a Massive Boner-Wielding Satan Statue to East Vancouver". Vice News. from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
9. Cascone, Sarah (2014-09-13). "Horny Satan Statue Wreaks Havoc in Canada". Artnet News. from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
10. Holliday, Ian (2014-09-19). "Devil statue prompts public art discussion". British Columbia. from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.