What is it?
“Travelling Light” (also know as the Blue Ring) is the creation of Berlin art group Inges Idee.
Standing at 17 metres tall, the ring acts as a symbolic portal that documents the city’s changes over the years. Passerbys can find it sitting along 96 Ave NE.
The project was given quite the budget, costing $471,000 to build. It was finally completed in 2013.
Why do People Hate it?
Travelling Light has faced a lot of ridicule from Calgarians. A large portion of it comes from the fact that a lot of money was being funded something that many (including the mayor) thought was ugly. Another issue was how most people didn’t understand the meaning behind it, instead just seeing a giant circle in the middle of a random highway.
The Artist's Response
Inges Idee were quite surprised at how much of a response there was surrounding the art piece. Though they’ve faced criticism before, they never experienced this much hatred. They said in a released statement, “We have
executed several other public art works in Canada (i.e. Vancouver and Edmonton)
but never faced this kind of reaction. It was and is not our intention to offend
anybody”.
They also mentioned how they were hand picked by the city’s Public Art Program, and hope people will come to like it over time.
