Category: statues

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There is a wooden statue of Rambo…

There is a wooden statue of Rambo from First Blood, in Hope, BC, Canada to commemorate the filming of the movie there. The carver, Ryan Villiers, took the challenge on and he delivered in a big way. Apparently Sylvester Stallone got wind of it and Ryan wanted his blessing before the carving was put up. […]

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Statues Nobody Will Ever Tear Down Because They’re Awesome

We’re going through a time of reflection brought on by the protests of Black citizens of the racism they face by law enforcement and in all areas of their everyday lives.

As we strive to have meaningful conversations about race, one of the casualties of the Black Lives Matter movement has been the statues of Confederate generals and early explorers like Christopher Columbus. There are further calls to keep toppling statues until every reminder of racism is removed from sight.

So is any statue safe? Sure!

On Twitter, author and historian James Barr asked a provoking question about the value of statues occupying public parks and streets. He got plenty of answers.

Here are 12 statues everyone seems to like.

1. Tokyo

A life-size Gundam!

2. Dublin

The Famine statues were presented to the City of Dublin in 1997.

3.  Sheffield, United Kingdom

Bronze sculpture by Martin Jennings that remembers the women of Sheffield who worked the steel factories during WWI and WWII.

4. Norway

By Gustav Vigeland. The babies are evil spirits.

5. Vancouver

Terry Fox was a Canadian athelete and amputee who ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

6. Vaxjo, Sweden

Whacking Neo-Nazis!

7. New York

By artist Paige Bradley to show a figure disconnecting herself from attachments.

8. London

Mary Seacole was a Black woman who traveled the world and helped people in need. She was best known for her work as a nurse during the Crimean War.

9. University of Maryland

Jim Henson and Kermit The Frog sit on a bench in front of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Building deep in conversation.

10. Sao Paulo

Commerating Brazil’s essential workers.

11. Denver International Airport

Blue Mustang. Also called Blucifer. Actually killed his creator, Luis Jiménez.

12. Seaham, Co. Durham

Great War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale.

Just as there are statues that commemorate people who are no longer considered heroes in the current context, there are many more honoring the lesser known men and women who changed the world in valuable ways. Other statues are artistic works and we need art to make us look at life in different ways.

Our history may be considered a source of misery, but we also need to remember the ones that made it as beautiful as they could–and still do. May we learn from them.

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London’s smallest statue…

London’s smallest statue ‘Two Mice Eating Cheese’ commemorates the death of two workmen who, in 1862, fell from scaffolding whilst arguing over a missing sandwich. It was actually stolen by mice.

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This Is Why so Many Ancient Statues Are Missing Their Noses

If you’ve ever spent time in a museum, you may have noticed that a lot of ancient sculptures are mysteriously nose-less.

One of the most famous examples of this phenomenon is the Great Sphinx of Ancient Egypt.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

But the Great Sphinx is far from unique. Ancient sculptures from a wide range of cultures, including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, are also missing their noses.

So what gives?

In some cases, the sculptures have been deliberately vandalized at some point in history. In Ancient Egypt, for example, people would often break off a statue’s nose in order to disable its power. The statues were thought to contain a life force, and removing the nose prevented the statue from breathing, thereby killing it.

But in the majority of cases, the missing noses on ancient statues are not the fault of humans at all. Instead, they’re the result of natural wear and tear.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

These sculptures are thousands and thousands of years old, after all. They’re often damaged in a number of ways, including discoloration, wear, and missing parts — including arms, ears, and other body parts aside from noses.

The parts of sculptures that stick out are usually the first ones to break off, because they’re less securely attached. This includes noses, arms, heads, and other appendages.

For example, the Venus de Milo is an ancient statue from Greece that was sculpted by Alexandros of Antioch around the late second century BC. It’s famous for its lack of arms.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

But that wasn’t a design choice – this sculpture did have arms at one point, they just broke off.

FYI, you can generally tell whether a body part was removed intentionally or not by looking at cut marks on the statue.

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A man in Vermont, upset…

A man in Vermont, upset with local officials for denying a building permit for his proposed business, paid $4,000 to build a giant illuminated middle finger statue on his property. “If you don’t want to look at the building, look at this.” He said to the Development Review Board.

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Sausage of the North

When British sausage-maker Heck announced that it was going to construct a gigantic sausage statue as tall as Big Ben alongside the A1(M) motorway in England, most people assumed they were joking. Especially since they made the announcement on the day before April Fool’s Day. But it turns out, they weren’t joking and appear to […]

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43 Giant Busts of U.S. Presidents Are Just Sitting in a Field in Virginia

Were you lucky enough to see the wonderful statues (erected in 2004) at Presidents Park in Williamsburg, Virginia? Well, consider yourself lucky – because the park closed due to lack of visitors in 2010.

Today, 43 giant busts of American Presidents sit on a farm in Virginia just waiting for someone, anyone, to figure out what to do with them. It’s too bad, because they are very impressive.

Posted by Renew the Presidents on Friday, February 2, 2018

The busts were made by David Adickes, an artist from Houston who was inspired to create the pieces after he visited Mount Rushmore. After six years on public display, the heads had to be moved after the land where the park was located was sold.

Posted by Renew the Presidents on Monday, January 18, 2016

Howard Hankins, who helped construct Presidents Park, removed the giant heads to his family farm until a decision is made about what’s next for the unique collection. Each head weighs 22,000 pounds, and they stand 18 to 20 feet tall. It took Hankins a week to lug all 43 of the statues to his property.

The Presidents in winter.

Posted by Renew the Presidents on Friday, December 8, 2017

What comes next for the statues is up in the air. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to open a museum that will feature the artifacts, but some of the statues are falling into disrepair and need a touch-up.

As of right now, the presidential busts are held on private property, which means they are not open to the public.

Hopefully, that will change in the future…

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In 2015, residents of a Serbian city erected a statue…

In 2015, residents of a Serbian city erected a statue to honor a small dachshund named Leo, who saved a 10-year-old child from a vicious dog attack. According to the Associated Press, the child was walking home from a friend’s house when a raging bull-mastiff cross-breed grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. Normally […]