Stargazer: What Do You See?

As E.A. Bucchianeri once said, “Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation.”

That much is certainly true of “Stargazer.”

After the iconic red sculpture’s most recent restoration this past fall, hundreds of readers took to Facebook to dispute artist Linda Scott’s intended vision: an abstract deer, its head tilted toward the sky, holding an antler in its mouth.

“Thought this was a rooster for 20 years,” one reader wrote.

“Me too!! Always,” another responded.

“I can’t unsee rooster!” the original commenter said.

Further down, the responses oscillated between congratulatory remarks and increasingly insistent claims that the sculpture is not what the artist, who died in 2015, once claimed.

“No reason for a deer to hold an antler in its mouth, but then again the country is upside down, nothing makes sense anymore, logic has left the building. Deer chowing on a tall sapling makes the most sense so far I think,” a reader said.

“It’s artwork,” another reader replied. “It doesn’t have to appear a certain way.”

Others were adamant that it’s a branch or cornstalk in its mouth — “The freaking thing is in a cornfield,” a reader pointed out — whereas another said, “Guys it’s a chicken head. Just accept it.”

And, of course, someone asked, “It’s not the Chick-fil-A logo?”

It is somewhat understandable why the debate got so heated, garnering almost 2,000 reactions and over 400 comments and shares. Since 1991, the nearly 50-foot-tall sculpture has stood in Eastport as the unofficial gateway to the Hamptons and, as such, has sentimental value for the millions of people who have passed by it over the last three decades.

In response to the hullabaloo, The Express News Group sent out a survey asking readers what they see when they look at Stargazer. And these are the top nine results:

1) Deer holding a branch and/or eating leaves – 37.2% (144 responses)

2) Deer gazing at the stars – 13.2% (51)

3) Rooster, or a rooster gazing at the stars – 10.9% (42)

4) Deer holding an antler, the artist’s intention – 8% (31)

5) Deer holding a sapling/cornstalk – 7.5% (29)

6) Deer only eating leaves – 5.4% (21)

7) Hand holding a bow and firing at the sun – 1.3% (5)

8) Chick-fil-A logo – .5% (2)

9) Kokopelli – .3% (1)

Honorable Mentions:

A fish or a whale

A dancer looking up to the sky

A bird flying over the Hamptons

A child, arms spread wide, jumping for joy

Two birds on a bare tree, one on top and one giant bird on the bottom

A person lying on a beach with either a palm tree or shooting star overhead