A sculptor with a stone-cold act of animal cruelty in his past has stirred up a roaring controversy over whether his work should adorn a public library.
Eccentric, Brooklyn-based artist Tom Otterness — who once shot a dog to death for an avant-garde film — has been commissioned for $750,000 by a mysterious donor to sculpt whimsical bronze lions and cubs as a gift to be installed outside the Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library.
Downtown’s Community Board 1, in a 23-7 vote last week, “wholeheartedly” gave the project its blessing, despite outrage from animal lovers.
At age 25 in 1977, Otterness produced “Shot Dog Film,” in which he chained and killed a small, black-and-white shelter pooch. The flick repeatedly shows the agonizing death.
Otterness has apologized for his “indefensible act.”
The Battery Park City Authority, which owns the building, is reviewing whether it can legally accept the anonymous donation, said spokeswoman Anne Fenton.
And the New York Public Library is balking at a plan to put one cub sculpture inside. Spokeswoman Angela Montefinise said the library is “concerned about maintenance and liability” and “not in a financial position to take on these responsibilities.”