Rob Rogers: Mister Rogers and The Thing

One of the many things that Pittsburgh produced was Mister Rogers, whose long-running children's program has been enjoyed for generations.

Pittsburgh recently unveiled a statue of Mister Rogers. Now, I think everyone can agree that a statue of Mister Rogers is a nice idea, but when the end result revealed to be, well ... lumpy ... it divides people.

Here's a photo by Steve Mellon for the Post-Gazette:


The Post-Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers has chimed into the debate about this work of art at his Sketch Blog:

When I saw photos of the statue by sculptor Robert Berks I was perplexed. The surface of the statue is rough and jagged to the point of looking dangerous. Jimmy Kimmel called it a "mud monster." In my opinion, this is not the gentle man from the Neighborhood we all knew and loved.

Sure, art is subjective ... but who are these folks defending the Mister Rogers statue? Can they somehow relate to the monument's crusty exterior? Then it dawned on me. There IS one character in the world who can really relate to this statue: Comic book superhero and member of the Fantastic Four, The Thing.

The rest is at Rob Rogers' Sketch Blog.