When it comes to public art, everyone's a critic

"Public art is a wonderful thing when done well and an embarrassment when it is not." But who gets to decide which is which? Nothing gets our knickers in a knot like public art. China can be accused of messing with our elections, Putin can mutter about nukes, and climate change can leave polar bears doing the backstroke amid the melting ice, and we just shrug. But plunk a sculpture in an outdoor space where everyone can pass judgment on it, and even the Dalai Lama will curl his lip and start snarling and spitting like it's a bike-lane debate….