Disclaimer: This article was published for April Fool’s Day.
The city is getting a nose job, and you might not like it. Tony Tasset’s iconic, larger-than-life Eye sculpture in front of The Joule in Downtown Dallas will be replaced with a giant sculpture of a nose in anticipation of Dallas Art Fair this April. The installation of Nose at The Joule will be permanent.
Created by Tony Tasset in 2007, Eye is a hyperrealistic depiction of the artist’s eye. Soaring 30 feet high, Eye was initially commissioned on behalf of the Art Loop program for Chicago Loop Alliance, before finding its home in Dallas in 2013.
The monolith, which has taken on many meanings over time, is one of the most iconic monuments in Dallas and has been until now a fixture of Downtown Dallas for residents and tourists alike.
As of this April, however, officials have decided remove the structure, replacing it instead with a massive sculpture of a nose.
Nose, towering 35-feet in the air, will likewise feature a hyper-realistic depiction of its artist’s nose. The renowned artist, Hawkins Nout, is most famous for his street art pieces, prominently featuring in subway tunnels, fish markets, and industrial areas.
“Dallas is more than what’s meets the eye,” said Dallas Art Fair official Lee Schnoz. “Smell or olfaction is the sense that has the most direct and emotionally charged connection with memory, and that’s what we’re all about: creating core memories in the city.”
Another unique feature of the new Nose at The Joule is that the statue is actually scratch-and-sniff. Upon scratching the sculpture, visitors can experience “the scent of Dallas” – in which the artist describes as hints of tortillas, hot concrete, Chanel No. 5, gasoline, Eucalyptus, and spray paint.
City officials will officially debut Nose at The Joule later this evening, April 1st. In honor of the big reveal, officials will host on-site cologne and perfume vendors. Attendees will also be able to sample from a variety of provided cheeses and truffles.
As for the ‘Eye’, officials will rejoin it with its ocular counterpart inside Big Tex’s face.