“The installation – and vandalism – of a series of sculptures in Sarasota has raised questions of taste, art, and local identity.” The sculptures are of 6-foot-tall clowns decorated by local artists, and they were controversial before they even went up. “The reasons for the exhibit’s woes remain a subject of fierce debate here. But most people blame some combination of poor planning, clown phobia, and a growing population of affluent retirees with less of a soft spot for the city’s circus past.”