Siegfried and...Saddam?

Bear with me today. I tend to be reticent in calling even the ugliest of taste a "crime" but sometimes this is the only word that comes to mind.

First: One of Saddam Hussein's many palaces, from Dictator Style by Peter York. No surprises here. Exactly what you'd expect from a Middle Eastern dictator:


And second, Siegfried and Roy's Las Vegas abode, in House and Garden, May 1991:

And yet another gem of a collage from the Siegfried and Roy shoot in House and Garden, May 1991:


My first thought when I saw these images was whether Saddam Hussein shared a decorator with Siegfried and Roy. Then I wondered: was it Saddam who called Siegfried asking for a muralist specializing in 70s style renditions of porn star demigods, or the other way around? Witness Saddam's prized painting of Medusa the stripper unleashing a giant green snake upon Rocky who is incidentally missing his gold lamé booties, all while being supervised by a blueberry colored Mr. Clean who has sprouted devil horns:

From Dictator Style, by Peter York

Part of me wants to forgive at least Siegfried for these monstrosities, being that it was '91 and just 2 years past the hurdle that was the '80s, but honestly boys, don't we have to draw the line somewhere?! And if there is a line, surely it has been LONG crossed by the time you reach Siegfried's Wonka-goes-to-Never Never Land Ranch gates and open your eyes to the wonder that appears to be an animated version of the Sistine Chapel. As for the panoramic view of the neon-lit TIGER WATER FALL, well, I won't even go there. It's as bad as a wolf shirt except with no ironic value and about 6,000,000,000,000 times the size and cost.

Oh Siegfried and Roy, how I hope things have changed since 1991...