CowParade

Bronze casting commemorating Chicago's 1999 exhibition

CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenues, and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.

After the exhibition in the city, which may last many months, the statues are auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity.

There are a few variations of shape, but the three most common shapes of cow were created by Pascal Knapp, a Swiss-born sculptor who was commissioned to create the cows specifically for the CowParade series of events. Pascal Knapp owns the copyrights to the standing, lying, and grazing cow shapes used in the CowParade events.

History

The concept of "cow parade" has its origins in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1998 by artistic director Walter Knapp, it is based on an idea which was realised in the same city for the first time in 1986: lions as the symbol of Zurich were painted and then on display throughout the city.

The Zürich exhibit 1998 was not called "cow parade" - it was called Land in Sicht (roughly translated as "Countryside in view").[citation needed] The concept was brought to the United States when Chicago businessman Peter Hanig, along with Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Lois Weisberg, organized an event in Chicago in 1999 called Cows on Parade. A Swiss company, CowHolding Parade AG, started to explore the idea.[citation needed] The American company capitalizing on this idea, CowHolding Parade, was founded in 1999; the Swiss company promptly sued but the case fizzled out without results.[citation needed] A bronze casting of one of the cows is on permanent display in Chicago in commemoration of the city's initial exhibition.[citation needed]

The success of this venture inspired many other cities to host similar fundraising projects. The idea has been taken up by other cities which have chosen animals for public art projects with painted fiberglass sculptures (e.g. Liverpool) (see Similar projects).[citation needed]

Cows

Some CowParade cities

Similar projects

Globe in TelAviv, A Gateway to the World, 2007

The phenomenon of CowParade has spawned copy-cat statue decorating projects in a number of cities worldwide.

Zürich itself has adapted the bear theme in the "Teddy-Summer" in 2005.

Elephant Parades

Elephant Parade is dedicated to saving the Asian elephant from extinction with auctioned off proceeds going to the Elephant Family organisation.[citation needed]

Location Name Exhibits Date
Copenhagen Elephant Parade 102 baby elephants 2011 June
Hasselt Elephant Parade 2012
Heerlen Elephant Parade 2011
London Elephant Parade 2010
Singapore Elephant Parade 2011

Buddy Bears

Two Buddy Bears at Kurfürstendamm 21, Berlin

This adopts the Cowparade idea to Berlin's town mascot; however the entailing United Buddy Bears exhibitions are very different from all other urban events. The bears were created by the German artists Klaus and Eva Herlitz. The idea and the philosophy behind the United Buddy Bears exhibitions are unique: with its international approach and its symbolism, this synthesis of the arts globally promotes tolerance, international understanding and a peaceful coexistence.

Location Name Number of Buddy Bears Date
Berlin Buddy Bear Berlin Show 350 2001 and 2002
Berlin + since 2004 worldwide United Buddy Bears Worldtour 150 2002 and 2003, since 2004 worldwide

Wild in Art

Since 2008 Wild in Art has created sculpture trails since 2008 from Aberdeen to Cape Town including events associated wth sporting events (2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games).

Location Name Exhibits Date
Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness Oor Wullie's Big Bucket Trail 60 Wullies June 17, 2019 for 6 weeks
Aberdeen Wild Dolphins 50 Dolphins June 23, 2014
Ashford, Kent Snowdogs Discover Ashford 55 Snowdogs September 12-November 18, 2018
Birmingham Big Hoot 89 owls July 20 to September 27, 2015
Birmingham Big Sleuth 100 sun bears July 10 to September 17, 2017
Bournemouth Pride in Bournemouth 50 lions 2011
Bristol Gromit Unleashed 80 Gromits 2013
Cambridge Cows about Cambridge 90 Red Poll cows June 28, 2021- September 4, 2021
Chester Rhino Mania 70 rhinos 2010
Liverpool Go Penguins 142 penguins 2009
Liverpool Go Superlambananas! 125 Superlambananas 2008
London 83 Wenlock and Mandeville mascots 2012
London Year of the Bus Sculpture Trails 41 buses 2014
Manchester Bee in the City Over 100 bees July 23 to September 23, 2018
Norwich GoGoDragons! 84 large dragons, 120 school dragons 2015

Asia

Europe

Two of the 104 decorated pigs on display in the English city of Bath. This was a public art event, called "King Bladud's Pigs in Bath". Pig sculptures were on display around the city through the summer of 2008.
Location Name Exhibits Date
's-Hertogenbosch Garden of Earthly Delights sculpture trail Figures taken from the Hieronymus Bosch work The Garden of Earthly Delights 2016
Bath King Bladud's Pigs 104 pigs 2008
Bath Lions of Bath 100 lions 2010
Bristol Shaun in the City Shaun the Sheep visits Bristol in the summer 2015, after the spring 2015 visit to London. To coincide with Shaun the Sheep Movie. 2015
Bristol Wow! Gorillas 61 gorillas 2011
Colchester Stand tall 112 giraffes 2013
Dortmund Dortmunder Nashorn [de] 120 winged rhinos 2005, expanded for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Glasgow Clyde's Mascot Trail 25 Clydes, the mascot of the 2014 Commonwealth Games 2014
Hamburg Hans Hummel 100 Hans Hummel 2003[citation needed]
Hannover Elefanten-Parade 45 elephants 2004'[citation needed]
Istanbul Shoe Art 500 shoes 2008 September
Hull Larkin with Toads 40 toads 2010
Kaiserslautern Fishing for Phantasy 250 fish 2001
Leipzig LeOLips 100 lions 2002
London What's in your DNA? 21 double helix sculptures including designed by Zaha Hadid, Orla Kiely and Ai Weiwei June 29 – September 6, 2015
London Shaun in the City 50 Shaun the Sheeps. Associated with a parade in Bristol in the summer 2015, and release of Shaun the Sheep Movie March 28 to May 25, 2015
London Budgie the Little Helicopter Comes to Town 2021
London The Big Egg Hunt 2012
London The Paddington Trail 50 Paddington Bears 2014
London Tusk Rhino Trail 21 rhinos September 2018
Munich Löwenparade 500 lions 2004
Neustadt an der Aisch Aischgruender Karpfen 120 carp 2008 September
Newport South Wales, UK SuperDragons 60 dragons 2010
Northampton Pride of Northampton 2010
Norwich Go Elephants 54 baby elephants 2008
Norwich GoGoGorillas! 53 gorillas 2013
Paris Pathé Roosters 50 roosters 2021[citation needed]
Sheffield Herd of Sheffield 58 elephants 2016
Southampton Go Rhinos! rhinos 2013
Versmold Bunte Borstenviecher 120 pigs 2007
Wells Swans of Wells 60 swans 2012, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
Wolverhampton Wolves in Wolves 30 wolves 5 July 5, 2017 - 24 September 2017
Wuppertal Pinguinale 200 penguins 2006
Zürich Teddy-Summer 630 teddy-bears 2005

North America

Criticism

CowParade has been criticized by contributing artists for their selectivity standards; David Lynch's cow with its flesh partially ripped off, and organs showing, was rejected. The explanation is that this particular CowParade cow was rejected by the City of New York, not the CowParade organisation.

A Swedish organization called The Militant Graffiti Artists of Stockholm kidnapped and decapitated one of the cows of the Stockholm event in protest of the publicly provisioned cows carrying advertisements.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-02-14 15:41 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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