The Joggers

This statue was created by Tony Natsoulas in 1986.

Town folklore has it that some hapless passerby tripped and suffered some injury upon the up-raised finger of a running figure in this sculpture, but that never actually happened—people just worried that it would happen. Originally the sculpture was a few feet closer to the intersection of 3rd Street and F, but after heated debate over possible injury from the aforementioned finger, the sculpture was moved a few feet back to its present location.

This is located outside the Historic City Hall, which until recently housed the Davis Police Department (and previously, the Fire Department as well). At that time many dubbed this statuary art, "Oh shit, it's the cops." This building now houses Bistro 33. Maybe that statue will take on new significance. Ah, living art.

Modifications to the Work Sometimes the statues can be caught smoking while loitering... or maybe they're not since they're jogging?

In early June 2009, a beehive and swarm of bees were left with the joggers, turning them into into runners.

• This is by far the most horrifyingly ugly statue in davis, probably in california, and quite possibly in the U.S. Meant to convey a sense of motion, the only movement it induces is an uncomfortable retching for the viewer. I have long planned to destroy it in the name of aesthetics, but i've been unable to steel my nerve sufficiently to approach this monstrosity. —EllenWoodall

I quite agree. I only wish the city would pay me to make a better updated version of this.

• What about The Ugliest Statue? —SS
• Close second, i say. - ArlenAbraham
• I like to call this "The Atomic Bomb Kids" because it reminds me of Ray Bradbury's story "There Will Come Soft Rains" in which the ghostly white shadows of two kids playing ball are baked onto the side of a house by a nuclear bombing. - KenjiYamada

* I don't mind the statue myself, though it's significance eludes me. Unless I hear otherwise, I'm inclined to go with the atomic bomb story. - EyadDarras

• Indeed, this is a hideous piece of garbage, but I daresay that The Ugliest Statue is quite a bit uglier. Think about it. This is just a homely representation of some ugly children running away from each other (presumably because of each other's repulsiveness). With The Ugliest Statue, nobody even knows what it is or what it's supposed to mean to its viewers. It's just 31 flavors of ugly wrapped up into a single statue, if you want to call it that. —JohnNapier
• There is something eerily similar in the "Ugliest Statute" and the Art in the middle of the Arden Fair mall— you know where there's those pyramids and weird tile cats. But the joggers, I think doesn't look ugly. It just looks like two people running, modern looking joggers, done in a medium as to make it look really old— so at least there's some kind of interesting duality. Although it was kind of funny when the building housed the police station— as they look like they were running from the cops in opposite directions. -jr
• "Bad" art is so much more "fun" than "good" art - AliceChoe

* Is it just me or is one of the "person's" head wretched around further than is humanly possible? Its sorta disturbing in a poltergeist sort of way... -SunjeetBaadkar

2009-06-03 19:53:48   I love the new addition! —JoePomidor

2009-06-07 00:08:02   kudos to whoever put the bees up - for awhile the statue actually made sense. As of June 7th the bees have been removed by someone with no sense of humor. —LaFrance

2012-11-11 23:36:09   Natsoulas donated a ceramic statue of a schoolboy to St. James when I was a student there in the 90s. I mean, I hope he donated it and they didn't commission it or something. It stood in the corner of the admin office, silently judging and damning all who entered. —LilyS