Florence - Modern Art

You might assume Florence is stuck in the Renaissance, and that's mostly true.  The Ufizzi ends in the 16th century.  But there is some cheeky modern art slipped in here and there, plus, I would argue, one  colossal eyesore. 

The monk has a friend. 

At first we thought the art installation above was a real man with face paint.  But he is actually made of wax and superimposed over the statue of a monk.  Next to him is a wax man staring down at his cell phone. Great public art right next to the Palazzo Vecchio and Ufizzi Galleries.  But in the same square is another colossal art installation... 

Not sure what it is, but it's big. 

Imagine chunks of clay stacked in a pile and then covered with duck tape.  Enlarge to enormous proportions several stories high.  Then you will have a good idea of what this piece by Urs Fischer looks like.  It was unveiled in Piazza dell Signoria the Friday of our visit, on September 22, 2017. The local news gushed that  Fischer was "one of the world's greatest artists" (alongside whom? Michelangelo? Da Vinci? Raphael?) and the above sculpture is a "monumental work" that provides a "provocative contrast" between ancient and contemporary art.  See article here.  I agree, it does provide a "provocative contrast" based on the double takes I saw of people passing by in the square.   

Addendum: All of the modern art installations in this piazza turned out to be all by Fischer.  It's just I like some better than others.