26FT MARILYN MONROE HITS PALM SPRINGS

“Forever Marilyn,” the 26-foot-tall statue that became a controversial fixture on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, is now in palm springs!

The 34,000-pound sculpture, which cost about $40,000 to transport, took a week to be trucked across the country. The marilyn statue  is now at Palm Canyon and Tahquitz Canyon Way, where it will remain until June 2013.

The sculpture by Seward Johnson, the 80-year-old artist and Johnson & Johnson heir who’s known for casting famous images into giant sculptures, re-creates the scene from the 1955 film "The Seven Year Itch" in which a drafty New York subway grate blows the sex symbol's skirt well above her knees.

 The piece didn't receive the warmest reception in Chicago during its time there and was the target of more than a few vandals and critics. Some called the undergarment-baring pose sexist, while VirtualTourist.com dubbed "Forever Marilyn" the No. 1 piece of bad public art -- ahead of a “Bewitched” statue in Salem, Mass.

photo courtesy~ betty fenar- palm springs/antebellum correspondent

Several cities lined up to host the massive Marilyn when its Chicago residency wrapped, perhaps because August marks the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood legend’s death.

"We received many requests as far away as Tokyo and Madrid and cities in Brazil, and we really felt that Palm Springs has a special connection to Marilyn because it is the legendary play land for Hollywood," said Paula Stoeke, the director and curator of the Sculpture Foundation, an organization funded and run by Johnson with offices in Santa Monica.

P.S. Resorts, a non-profit organization made up of local hoteliers to promote Palm Springs Tourism through events and attractions, announced that a series of films featuring Marilyn Monroe will be screened at the "Forever Marilyn sculpture at the corner od Palm Springs Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way.
The films will start at dusk. Seating is first-come first-served and movie-goers are encouraged to bring blankets or low lawn chairs.

FREE parking is available on site: please enter from Tahquitz Canyon Way at Belardo Road. 

july 20th, 2012- 8:30pm- SOME LIKE IT HOT