If you have ever traveled to downtown Sarasota, you have most likely noticed the picturesque bayfront setting, complete with its own 26-foot statue of a 1940’s sailor and nurse kissing. While yes, this rather monolithic sculpture can take away from the awe-inspiring beauty the Sarasota Bayfront has to offer, the statue’s historical significance and quirkiness has proven a “tourist trap” in recent years. No matter how locals or tourists alike view the Unconditional Surrender sculpture, the statue certainly serves as a Sarasota hot spot.

Season of Sculpture Board President Susan McLeod said that the look of the statue attracts visitors, but its history keeps them there.

“The sculpture is a replica of a photo” that was taken at the end of World War II when navy soldiers celebrated the war’s end throughout Times Square, she said.

It was shot when one unsuspecting nurse was swept off her feet by a navy man.

“Older people remember the day the war ended and remember the celebrations in the streets,” she said.

McLeod said the statue serves primarily as nostalgia for the senior community of Sarasota as well as an attraction for younger people.

While the sculpture seems romantic and nostalgic at first sight, confrontation hides behind those puckered lips. One of the biggest questions that has arisen since the statue was first displayed in 2005 as a part of the Season of Sculpture biannual art exhibition is whether the sculpture is art or just plain tacky.

The statue was created using computer graphic technology, which may be hokey to some.

Carol Milano, a Sarasota resident and Saint Stephen’s parent, said, “It’s not art; it’s kitsch. For a community that prides itself on its art and resources and has so many talented, original artists, it is shameful to sacrifice the beauty of the bayfront for this sentimental monstrosity.”

On the other hand, Stan Rutstein, a local real estate agent, said he valued the various ways the statue can be interpreted and this was the reason why he donated money for the benches around the statue.

“There are no rules when it comes to art. [The statue] has great symbolism because it commemorates America,” he said.

Rutstein said he also believes that Sarasota is the ideal place to have this statue, as tourists are attracted to ” the single most cultured city in the state of Florida,” year after year.

“The statue is the second most popular attraction in Sarasota after the new Ringling Bridge,” he said.

The Unconditional Surrender’s size and location garners a tremendous amount of attention as well,” McLeod said.

However, she said it is most important for the statue to be fun.

“Tourists and residents enjoy the representation that Unconditional Surrender provides,” she said. “Younger people think it is funny to look up [the nurse’s] skirt.”