The US government recently purchased a Bob Dylan iron sculpture. The sculpture is on display at the US Embassy in Mozambique and will be on display for 7 years (so until 2026). However, some people aren't super happy with this purchase.

Remember the government shutdown that recently happened? That's when the government purchased this Bob Dylan sculpture. And it wasn't cheap. The sculpture cost $84,375. Because of when the sculpture was purchased and how much it cost, some people got a little upset.

An anonymous State Department official spoke with ArtNet News and said: "it strikes me as excessive." Other critics say that the government "spent too excessively at a time when 800,000 federal workers weren’t getting their paychecks."

People who are defending this sculpture purchase say that "the installation of American art [is] a key aspect of soft diplomacy." The Art in Embassies website says that the program of putting art in embassies "creates vital cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding through the visual arts and dynamic artist exchanges."

What do you think about the government's purchase?

 

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