The latest public artwork to be revealed in Kent has certainly proved to be a talking point and it lands in a town becoming well-known for unveiling 'unique' designs.

Those getting off the train, or bus at Maidstone East station, near County Hall, are now greeted by a large metal sculpture of a Mantellisaurus, a dinosaur that roamed the area some 125 million years ago. It is the brainchild of Maidstone council.

The town was at the forefront of dinosaur discoveries in the early 1800s with the unearthing of a skeleton of an Iguanodon in a ragstone quarry off Queen's Road in 1834.

The dinosaur, affectionately nick-named Iggy, found its way into Maidstone's hearts and onto the borough's official coat of arms, along with the Invicta horse and a lion.

Maidstone is the only borough in the country to have a dinosaur featured in its coat of arms.

Since 1834 - when the term dinosaur hadn't yet even been coined - the science has moved on, and we now know that our Iggy was in fact a Mantellisaurus - a sub-species of the Iguanodon family.

The £40,000 sculpture has already received widespread praise for its life-like features, mixed with an equal degree of scepticism over whether the Mantellisaurus will survive the county town's taggers and vandals.

Whenever a new work of art is proposed, there is always an outcry - especially if it is being paid for by the public purse. The council is immediately accused of wasting taxpayer's money. Yet over time, they can become a feature of the town, even if it's only because everybody loves to have something to hate.

When Maidstone council first spent £15,000 on Shorn The Sheep in 1996, an 18ft high model sheep made of wire and plaster and inset with 2,600 flowering blooms, of course many residents were scandalised.

Shorn was the showpiece for the town's Festival of Flowers that year and was originally intended for one season only. But he garnered nationwide publicity for the town and brought in many visitors and so was brought back again and again.

But when after five years, the council decided he was too costly and sold Shorn off to the Grafty Green Garden Centre, there was an instant clamour for Shorn's return, so that the council had to lease him back for four months of the year to stand outside what was then The Chequers bus station.

The arrangement lasted another 10 years, until eventually, Grafty Green Garden Centre closed in 2015, but even then when Shorn was destined for the rubbish dump, he was rescued by an admirer, Joe Mallet, the owner of the Who'd A Thought It pub, to adorn his premises.

Today, whenever Shorn is mentioned in Maidstone, it is usually more with affection than anger.

Which perhaps gives us the opportunity to review the other public works of art that have graced our streets over the years.

How are they faring? And how much have they imposed themselves on the public conscience?

First up is another Iggy - although actually Maidstone council prefers to call him Spike.

For those of you who are not parents with young kids, there is a popular children's cartoon series called Land Before Time which features a dinosaur called Spike - although actually, he is a stegosaurus.

A skeletal representation of the dinosaur was installed on the grass verge near the junction of the A20 Ashford Road and New Cut Road at Bearsted, a year ago.

Smaller than the new Iggy, this representation has survived the rigours of the vandals unscathed and has become a popular addition to the local landscape, although rather inexplicably, it is at the moment adorned with South African flags and bunting.

Just over the road from Little Iggy are two "monoliths" - dead tree trunks stripped of their branches, and carved with images representing Kent's farming, hopping and fruit growing heritage.

They were carved last year by chainsaw artist Peter Leadbeater as part of the council's Go Green Go Wild campaign to promote the countryside, each is around 14ft tall.

Maidstone has two pieces of art which are both "pre-loved" having come from other councils.

The first and most spectacular is the rampant Stag, outside the Lockmeadow Leisure Complex. Created by Edward Bainbridge Copnall in 1963 (for which he was awarded a silver medal from the Royal Society of British Sculptors that year), the stag was originally displayed at Stag Place near Victoria Station in London and unveiled by Princess Alexandra.

When the station was redeveloped in 1997, it was given by Copnall's daughter, Jill Neff, to Sevenoaks Borough Council (Copnall himself had died in 1973), but Sevenoaks struggled to find a suitable site for the piece which stands 21-feet tall and weighs 1.5tons.

In 2003, Sevenoaks sold the Stag to Maidstone council for £2,000 - quite a bargain as it was originally valued at £250,000.

It was unveiled in its new location in 2004 as part of Kent Millennium River Park project.

Maidstone's other "borrowed" artwork came from Ashford.

In 1979, KCC commissioned a young Antony Gormley - the sculptor best known for the Angel of the North - to come up with something to decorate Singleton Lake in Ashford.

Gormley produced his work called Two Stones - two boulders one made of granite and one made of bronze - to represent the old and the new.

Sadly Ashford's residents did not fully appreciate their artistic merit, and in 2010 vandals damaged the boulders which then had to be taken away to Telford in Shropshire for specialist repair.

Once fixed, KCC decided they would fare better as "gateway" artwork for visitors to Maidstone, and placed them outside the new Kent History and Library Centre at Sandling, where they have been since 2013.

Just over the river we come to another two talking points.

The Maidstone Marker, or Flashing Needle as it sometimes known, is a 60ft metal tower that has an array of LED lights that flash different colours at night. It was commissioned by the borough council, designed by Rob Olins, and erected in 2009 as part of the borough's Elemental Arts project.

Sadly, problems with connecting the electrical supply meant it could not be placed in its original chosen position, and ended up much closer to the Totem Pole, another art work, which it now rather dwarfs.
It cost £63,000 and met with much derision at its appearance. Not only was it a "waste of money" but also the lights were said by some to be a dangerous distraction for motorists.

Our assessment is that this is one public work of art that has become more warmly accepted over time.

The same can't be said for the nearby Totem Pole, cast in bronze by Jonathan Maverny in 1998, at a cost of £60,000 to celebrate the Maidstone Festival of Flowers that year.

Speaking in 2003, former the Mayor of Maidstone Frances Brown said: "It was a disaster. There are still people who do not understand what that pole is all about and it was seen as a total waste of funds."

The Totem Pole is another artwork not in its original place. It first stood in Maidstone High Street, near the junction with Week Street, but in 2004 it was moved to the riverbank after HSBC complained that it was spoiling the effect of their newly refurbished branch.

The bank contributed to the cost of the move.

The Totem Pole has nothing to do with Native Americans, but rather is designed like a strawberry planter and decorated with rustic figures.

And a metal installation in Whatman Park, part of the Millennium River Park, represents the double helix structure of DNA.

Created in steel, by David Annand, it is 60 yards long and 10ft high. There is not - as far as we are aware - any connection to Maidstone or to the park, but it is noticeable how many park visitors like to walk through the tunnel created by its spiral loops.

Which brings us to our final artwork for Maidstone - The Alien Egg. Tucked away in the Rose Garden below the Archbishop's Palace, close to the waterfront, is a white and orange orb. From a distance it looks as though it is made of plastic, but close up you discover it is in fact marble.

The work is entitled Morning Thoughts and is by West German artist Ekkehard Altenburger. It is 6ft 6in high.

Even while granting it planning permission, the then chairman of the planning committee, Cllr Richard Lusty, said: "I actually don't like it. I am actually surprised we have paid money for it."

That's a view that many share.

Still Maidstone is not the only town in Kent to have commissioned some questionable art works.

In Ashford, there has been plenty of controversy over the Ashlon sculpture installed near Ashford International Station.

Created by Tim Ward, at a cost £55,000 it depicts ploughed fields with furrows in the metal, stretching towards the upper growth section represented by growing leaves on an Ash tree.

It is named Ashlon as a combination of the words Ashford and pylon. It stands eight metres high and is made of steel.

It has been variously described as "an outrage", "atrocious" and "looking like a surf-board."

Ashford is home to a second controversial piece too - the Bolt Roundabout, known as Notaroundabout.

It supposedly represents the head of a bolt screwed into the ground.

Installed in 2008 and designed by John Atkin, it harkens back to Ashford's rail heritage and was deliberately made of corten steel so that it would rust and reflect the area's historic industrial heritage.

It is frequently given a makeover by pranksters who feel they can improve on the original design. Many agree with them.

An artwork unveiled in Folkestone in June of last year also proved divisive, although the work entitled 'OK' (Untitled Action) had its supporters.

Artist Stefan Bruggermann turned an entire building front in Tontine Street into an artwork, with its shutters drawn and windows blocked. He gilded the building with gold-leaf and then scrawled the word 'OK' over it black paint.

Comments ranged from "fantastic" to "There is enough of a problem with vandalism in our town and this is just endorsing it."

But whatever the reaction, it was impossible for any passer-by not to notice the work, which was commissioned by arts organisation HOP Projects CT20.

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