Honestly, themilum, I don't see your point about government legislating art. How is that part of the argument? The issue is not the aesthetics of the artwork, and it isn't being legislated anyway. It was artwork commissioned by the city. The complaint about government imposing weird art that appeals to snobs only doesn't fly either. As far as art goes, it is a quite conventional, representative sort of artwork that depicts historical figures for the purpose of edifying viewers. That's not exactly avante garde stuff.