Why are there red penguins in Venice?

June 18, 2005 7:21 PM

We recently returned from a visit to Venice, Italy. Whilst on a vaporetto travelling the Grand Canal, we noticed many balconies sporting red penguin statues....

Unfortunately, we were only stopping over in Venice for the day, so we never discovered the significance of the penguins. I tried googling a few things, but so far it remains a mystery. Can anyone explain the red penguins of Venice?

Thanks!

posted by woj to society & culture (3 answers total)

Red penguins like these?

They appear to be part of a citywide art installation (cf. Chicago's cows, numerous similar municipal public art initiatives around the world; they began in Switzerland). English via Google.

Cracking Art, the sponsoring organization.
posted by dhartung at 9:37 PM on June 18, 2005

Thanks, dhartung!
posted by woj at 10:32 PM on June 18, 2005

full circle: I just got back from Zurich, which is apparntly in the middle of Teddy Sommer.
posted by whatzit at 5:17 AM on June 19, 2005