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This makes me so sad. , Milwaukie residents are all up in arms about the public art proposed to go in at the final stop of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Line.

Apparently, this giant baby-faced deer statue isn’t pretty enough for Milwaukie.

I personally love this statue. When it first came to my attention a few weeks ago, I printed out a picture and hung it in my cubicle. I mean, if you think about it and/or , it really makes sense for the area:

A large, stylized deer with childlike face speaks to the community’s vision of renewal and the proximity of the station to the new Trolley Trail. Drawn from many traditions from NW Coast Native American carvings to colossal roadside sculpture, Rebirth is a monumental icon that creates a link between the natural environment and the commercial strip of McLoughlin Boulevard.

Come on, people, don’t you like art?

There are no specific complaints about the statue referenced in the Oregonian story. I imagine the folks of Milwaukie just don’t get it. The $25,000 statue will come out of the required public art budget for the light-rail line. This is the same program that brought us the giant mohawk on the Rockwood MAX station, which is also oversized and colorful.

The giant baby-faced deer statue was designed by Seyed Alavi, who has an entire gallery of public art with complicated explanations on his . For an example, check out this glass “seed of knowledge” at the University of Minnesota in Saint Paul.