It is easy to be cynical about public art and, by any measure, £5m is a lot of money to spend on two sculptures of horses' heads.
However, the Kelpie statues off the M9 motorway at Falkirk, which have just been completed after many months of construction work, are more than just a piece of public art.
Certainly, they will be a dramatic addition to the urban landscape. Some 600 tonnes of steel went into their construction and they are 100ft tall - even those who think there is too much public art will be impressed by the scale and ambition of the project.
But there is more to them than that, as there should be with publicly funded projects of this nature. Falkirk Council aims to attract more visitors to the town and the surrounding area through the £43m redevelopment of 350 hectares of land and the Kelpies, which were created by artist Andy Scott, are a key part of the plan.
Perhaps the sculpture could have been left out of that plan but its power should not be underestimated. As Mr Scott says, The Angel of Gateshead demonstrated public sculpture can be a catalyst in regeneration. A pair of ancient supernatural Kelpies may now work the same magic for Falkirk.
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