ABOVE: Allison Vuchnich reports on how a statue of Lucille Ball has created an uproar in the TV icon’s hometown.
TORONTO — The artist responsible for a much-criticized statue of TV icon Lucille Ball has offered to make it better.
“I am willing to put my time and money into redoing the Lucy sculpture and feel confident after ten years I can do a much better job,” Dave Poulin said in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter.
Poulin made the 400-pound sculpture more than a decade ago for friends Mark Wilson and Jetta Wilson, who later donated it to Ball’s birthplace, the town of Celoron, NY — about three hours southwest of Toronto.
The sculpture, erected in a park in 2009, depicts Ball as she appeared in the “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” episode of the late-’50s series I Love Lucy.
A Facebook page called “We Love Lucy! Get Rid of this Statue” recently sparked new interest in the sculpture.
Poulin said he has made several offers over the years to fix the statue.
“I understand if the community is upset and had suggested years ago they remove the sculpture so as not to continue to anger people,” he explained.
“It puzzles me when an art work is donated to a community, they accept it, and then get angry and insist you redo the art work at your own expense.”
In his letter, Poulin admitted he was never proud of his Ball statue.
“From the day of its installation I have shared my disappointment in the final outcome and have always believed it to be by far my most unsettling sculpture,” he wrote.
“In retrospect, it should have never been cast in bronze and made public, and I take complete ownership of that poor decision.”
Celoron mayor Scott Schrecengost told a local news station: “At this point, I’m not interested in him doing anything with the statue. He’s had plenty of opportunity and we’re going to move forward from here.”
Poulin said he looks forward to removing the statue “with the promise of creating a new beautiful and charming ‘Lucy’ in its place.”
Ball died in 1989 at 77.
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