Letter From London: Rubbing Shoulders With Lord Nelson

Londoners seem to appreciate the rebellious nature of Quinn's sculpture. "It's good to push minorities to the front of art," says Jon Bryan, 48, an unemployed Londoner who lost his right arm in a bicycle accident. Twenty years ago, it might have been a different story. During the late 1980s and '90s, a group of upstart conceptualists dubbed the Young British Artists sparked outrage by pushing the boundaries of taste and convention. (Quinn froze casts of his head filled with his own blood.) But as London became increasingly cosmopolitan, the public lost its capacity to be shocked. Says Nairne: "Now London has all these different points of view, and that produces discussion. It's part of the city's growing confidence."

The novelty of Alison Lapper Pregnant is already wearing off. The most attention she gets these days is from the pigeons that perch on her lap. It says something about London's acceptance of change that they will probably like the next sculpture just as much, especially since it's called Hotel for the Birds.