Massive crow sculptures at Laguna Beach City Hall sparking public interest, discussion

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- An attempted murder has been staged on the lawn outside Laguna Beach City Hall - but there's nothing to worry about.

The new art installation features two oversized crows and is catching the attention of people walking by.

The installation's name, An Attempted Murder, refers to the term for a group of crows. A flock of three or more is called a "murder of crows." Since there are only two crows in the installation, it was naturally an "attempted murder."

"You see a lot of selfies taken here with all kinds of poses. Some people look through the crows' mouths, some people are standing next to it, underneath it, lots of kids. Super cute," said Sue Kempf, mayor of Laguna Beach.

The bronze statues weigh 1,000 pounds and were created by Northern California artist Jack Champion, who says he was influenced by an encounter with crows in 2012 at the Burning Man festival.

"He brought it down on a flatbed truck so you can imagine what that was like to have two big crows on a flatbed truck coming all the way down the 5 (freeway)," Kempf said.

"We've had so many unusual pieces here and it creates a conversation, and that's what you want with the arts," Kempf said.

While the crows may get people talking or spark artistic interest, some residents are quick to reference it to Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" movie in which crows and other birds make unexplained violent attacks.

"This is scary... I don't like it because it's black. I don't like the poses. I think it's aggressive," Laguna Beach resident Jo Jensen said.

The city encourages people to create their own narratives as to how the crows are standing and looking at each other to ignite interest in the arts.

The temporary art installation outside of Laguna Beach City Hall will run through September before another art piece moves in.