The mayor of Lucille Ball’s western New York hometown, Celoron, says he’ll hire a new sculptor to “fix” the village’s much-maligned statue of the 1950s sitcom star after criticism of the public artwork drew worldwide attention.
Mayor Scott Schrecengost said on Tuesday he has spoken with a sculptor who agrees to fix the life-size bronze statue for less than the $10,000 (Dh36,730) quoted previously by the original sculptor, Dave Poulin.
The mayor’s announcement comes only hours after Poulin said he was willing to create a new statue for free. The mayor says he doesn’t want Poulin to redo the work. Poulin says he’s fine with that decision.
Critics of the statue dubbed it “Scary Lucy,” saying it bears little resemblance to the I Love Lucy star.
