Concrete Cows

The Concrete Cows in Milton Keynes, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Leyh.

The Cows are constructed from scrap, skinned with fibre glass reinforced concrete donated by a local builder.

[3] The artist was an "artist-in-residence" in the early days of Milton Keynes and part of her role was to lead community participation in art.

[3] Other examples of her work here include The Owl and The Pussy Cat at Netherfield and a concrete mural near the leisure centre at Stantonbury.

Sometimes they have simply been damaged,[5] while at other times they have been painted pink, become zebras,[6] become skeletal,[7] had pyjama bottoms added,[8] have been beheaded[8] in the style of Damien Hirst, have acquired BSE (mad cow disease) graffiti,[8] had one of the calves kidnapped (with ransom notes to the local papers).

[citation needed] When UK Culture Minister Kim Howells referred to modern art trends as "conceptual bullshit",[9] the Cows acquired concrete cow-pats.

They have subsequently resided at the National Hockey Stadium and Midsummer Place, beside the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.