Santa Claus by Paul McCarthy

The sculpture features a cloaked figure holding a bell that looks like a pine tree, though many residents recognize it by a much cruder name. Paul McCarthy created this six meter tall aluminum statue, originally intended for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. It faced years of public rejection, bounced between storage facilities, and triggered fierce debates about its aesthetic and perceived vulgarity. The figure now stands in the Cool district, a permanent marker of the city’s long struggle to define its own public art.