Hannah Spence
A collection of supersize voting pink flamingos adorns a new art installation designed to make the county Supervisor of Elections’ new headquarters more inviting.
Why it matters: In a time of tension around elections, ”VOTE!” celebrates the right to cast a ballot in a whimsical style.
The three giant flamingos in voting booths were created by Matthew Mazzotta, who dreamed up the famous 21-foot flamingo at Tampa International Airport that he called “HOME” and that visitors nicknamed Phoebe.
Catch up quick: New York-based Mazzotta’s concept was among dozens of applicants to a national open call by the county’s Public Art Committee.
- In 2021, a panel of the Public Art Committee, Supervisor of Election Wendy Sartory Link and a representative of project architect Song and Associates unanimously recommended Mazzotta’s proposal.
- “VOTE!” cost about $725,000, paid with county bond money, to meet the county policy that 2 percent of a building’s construction cost be committed to an art installation.
- It greets visitors on Cherry Road just east of Military Trail on the west side of the $50 million elections building.
What they’re saying: “Palm Beach County wanted a work to go with their new building, and the main thing I wanted to do was make it more democratic to where people can see themselves voting,” Mazzotta told Stet News. “Also, to humanize it.
“Each of the heads are doing something different. One flamingo is looking down trying to vote. The other two are sizing each other up or kind of cheating off each other. Obviously, voting happening in the United States is a private affair but in this case, you have to realize it’s made up of all different types of individuals.”
Of note: Mazzotta titles his work with capital letters to make the name stand out. When he was younger, a band did the same thing, and he remembers thinking, “That’s the way to do it.”
