Tablescaping. Not quite the right idea.

I am expanding my previous focus from bottled water to other "amenities" offered by hotels in their conference rooms. This is about "tablescaping." Perhaps you have not heard this term. The contract for a conference I recently attended promises that "all meeting rooms are to be tablescaped, using intriguing metallic sculptures and gems."

Words don't do this justice. See the photo above. A stainless steel circle; a metal sculpture, perhaps representing a person; and the "gem," a diamond shaped piece of cut glass over six inches in diameter. They are comfortably resting on a pebble mosaic tile. Yes, the kind you would use in a bathroom renovation project. (This is a meshed-back product, like these. Instructions: Glue it to the floor with others and fill in with grout.)

I hope I am not offending someone with artistic inclinations, but what on earth is the point of this? We had a set of conference tables set up in a square (seating 20 people), and one of these arrangements was placed on the middle of each table. Not only did they fail to contribute to the meeting, but they actually got in the way of people's lines of sight, while taking up space on the table, too. So, here's where they ended up shortly after the meeting started: