Strange statues around the world
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006.
- Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway (thanks Stenar, jac). Sculpture by Gustav Vigeland.
- Stockholm, Salzburg; Sweden (thanks Johannes, David, Mogens Beltoft, Yuriy Korzhkov)
- Prague (thanks Michael, Matt Simpson)
- Statue of german writer Kafka, Prague, Czech (thanks Jon Elbert)
- Brussels, Belgium (thanks jamyleloup)
- The man who measures the clouds by Jan Fabre, Belgium (thanks David Felizarda)
- By Damien Hirst. 5th Ave., Manhattan, US (thanks Chris Coleman, nelis). Photo copyright @ Edward Sudentas/Wired New York.
- Salt Lake City, Utah, US (thanks Stenar)
- Fremont Troll of Seattle, WA, US (thanks vanjulio)
- Turin, Italy (thanks texilee)
- Bratislava, Slovakia (thanks Daniele)
- “The Illuminated Crowd”, in front of the Banque Nationale de Paris tower, Montreal, Canada (thanks SNF)
- Melbourne, Australia (thanks catenoid)
- Minsk, Belarus (thanks Aleh)
- In front of the Ernst & Young building, Los Angeles, US (thanks Pam)
- Toronto, Canada (thanks Kristan)
- Mazinger Z, Spain (thanks mpc, Ten, Mat)
- Atocha RailStation, Madrid, Spain (thanks guimi)
- Optimus Prime, China (thanks Juan Incognito)
- Malmo, Sweden (thanks kip, dragonsden)
- UOB Plaza, Singapore. Address: 80 Raffles Place. (thanks Juhu)
- La Pouce, Paris, France (thanks Jeff, Marc Lacoste)
- Depiction of a bread line, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Washington, DC, USA (thanks JohnK3)
- Berlin, Germany (Lou)
- Russia (thanks littlebat)
- Cheltenham, UK (thanks Tim)
- Millesg?rden, Stockholm, Sweden. By Carl Milles (thanks Twee)
- Yerevan, Armenia (thanks Hayk)
- Oxford, UK (thanks CdrJameson)
- “Tête au carré” building by Sosno, Nice, France (thanks gimix)
- Singapore (thanks Misayo)
- Amsterdam, Holland (thanks Korilian)
- Asus headquarter, Taiwan (thanks Phil). It is made from computer chips
- Kiev, Ukraine (thanks Eugene). It commemorates a local comedy actor truly beloved by public - he liked to sit at that very place with his old dog.
- Nuremberg, Germany (thanks Nick, Armin)
- Bremen, Germany (thanks morlach01)
- Trafalgar Square, London (thanks sam_m, MJ, Simon C). A sculpture of Alison Lapper by Marc Quinn
- Kharkov, Ukraine (thanks PHWizard)
- Monaco (thanks NK)
- Cologne, Germany (thanks Alexandre)
- In front of The Institute for Microbiology, Tuebingen University, Germany
- Statue of a tourist, Shanghai, China (thanks Jakob)
- near San Giovanni train station, Como, Italy (thanks Dario)
- Wateringen, Holland (thanks FBS, Roadie)
- Potsdam, Germany (thanks Ola)
- Santa Fe, New Mexico (thanks Gatrh, Paul)
- Springfield, Missouri, US (thanks Noella)
Around the world
Also check out our selected content at haha.nu
(763 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5)
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June 28th, 2006 09:05
What a marvelous collection! Thank you!
June 28th, 2006 09:26
Great pics. Would be nice to know where in the world they were taken.
June 28th, 2006 09:28
Why are Botero’s statues classified as “strange”?!
I think you are strange.
Botero is a great artist.
June 28th, 2006 09:41
The fifth one from the bottom, with the woman with the flesh and bones exposed is on 5th Ave. in Manhattan, right?
June 28th, 2006 09:51
Do you have a list of what cities these statues are all located?
June 28th, 2006 10:31
some captions would be nice.
June 28th, 2006 10:32
wow! I love those pics lol
June 28th, 2006 11:06
Terrific selection… would also want to know where in the world are they located… Thanks a lot !
June 28th, 2006 11:27
The statues are fabulous. Thanks for sharing them!
June 28th, 2006 11:32
the gun, the space cow and the statue below the space cow are all from stockholm, sweden.
June 28th, 2006 11:37
Here some pictures of a strange statue in Prague:
http://michael.muelly.com/pictures/d/31277-2/DSCN0961.JPG
http://michael.muelly.com/pictures/d/31278-2/DSCN0962.JPG
http://michael.muelly.com/pictures/d/31279-2/DSCN0963.JPG
June 28th, 2006 11:40
The third from the top of the man swinging the babies around is in Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway.
The one in the middle of the mother swinging her daughter around (in front of a red brick bldg.) is in Salt Lake City, Utah.
http://www.g-zus.net/
June 28th, 2006 12:36
I don’t think ‘Strange’ and ‘Statues’ are the best terms you could have chosen to describe what you’ve got here. I’d change the page title to something more appropriate in order to avoid appearing uneducated to your viewers. I also suggest that you publish the name of the artist and the title and location of the work when ever possible. People who enjoy looking at stuff like this typically appreciate getting the details, too. You are a very good photographer (your work, right?) Thanks for a good time!
June 28th, 2006 12:58
white armless woman: marc quinn, london
bottom pic: damian hirst, london
June 28th, 2006 12:59
I saw the revolver with a knotted barrel a couple of weeks ago when visiting Stockholm, Sweden.
June 28th, 2006 13:05
Look this.
In Spain.
June 28th, 2006 13:06
This collection demonstrates how often people are unimaginitive, puerile, and obsessed with the human body.
June 28th, 2006 13:11
Great collection of sculpture and photos.
Thank you.
June 28th, 2006 13:21
Geant encelade in Chateau de Versailles (France)
June 28th, 2006 13:22
#18 - the troll with the car - is the infamous Fremont Troll of Seattle, WA.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAtroll.html
June 28th, 2006 13:46
Great post! Img with ALT tag set to “81.jpg” is in Turin (Italy)
June 28th, 2006 13:56
Two of the statues can be seen in stockholm
June 28th, 2006 14:01
the one with the photographer in the corner is in bratislava, slovakia
June 28th, 2006 14:07
The one with the Troll under a bridge with long hair crushing the car is from Seattle, WA in a neighbourhood called Fremont.
June 28th, 2006 14:10
I’m sorry but I miss classical art and the classical world. I was raised on the arts and took a nonjudgmental stance until it drove me literally crazy. Again, I’m sorry, but I really dislike most of these statues. Let people be naked once they’ve solved the world’s problems and learned what love is. Please don’t make me stare at metallic genitalia in public places — it makes me not want to have sex, ever, because I’m ashamed of how lost and greedy humanity has become. I do not want to bring a child into this world and have him be forced to consider this art somehow good. I was hoping to look at these photos and laugh, but I didn’t because it reminded me of how ugly contemporary people tend to be. I just felt nauseous at how low people are willing to go in order to feel “higher class” (they’re too stupid to think of the word “sophisticated” generally), and how entitled they feel to impose their bad aesthetics on everyone. I don’t want to pay any taxes for this crap, and I’m someone who once wrote graduate paper on Robert Mappelthorpe and the NEA. Boy, was that a bunch of propoganda I was fed. If you guys like it then good for you, but as for me: NO THANKS, not anymore.
June 28th, 2006 14:35
These are great. I remember several other really odd ones in Jakarta, Indonesia. There was Hot Hands Harry, a giant screaming man holding a flaming pizza plate above his head http://imageindonesia.com/jakarta4.html, and Hanuman the Monkey God standing on a huge arc above the freeway Gatot Subroto. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a picture of that one.
June 28th, 2006 15:17
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431d08e7c390762186.jpg
That one is called “The Illuminated Crowd”, and is located in front of the Banque Nationale de Paris tower in Montreal, Canada.
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~markm/crowd.html
June 28th, 2006 15:20
Ginger (#25), you “miss classical art and the classical world” but don’t like sculptures of nudes? Have you ever SEEN any classical art? More penises and pudenda than you can shake a stick at.
June 28th, 2006 15:31
Man, This is a very good collection of the most funny picture i have seen today.
Thanks
Breno Leitao
June 28th, 2006 15:32
The upside-down statue of La Trobe, the oversized coin purse, and the whistling skinny guy with the red tie are all from downtown Melbourne, Australia.
June 28th, 2006 15:35
I am new at this comp. thing,but all of the info music art and literature are interesting!
June 28th, 2006 15:45
The yellowish crowd of people with the guy in front pointing is in Montreal, Quebec near McGill University. The locals jokingly call it “The Attack of the Butter People”
June 28th, 2006 15:46
24.jpg and 66.jpg are from Minsk, Belarus.
June 28th, 2006 15:49
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431e566bb131707697.jpg
That one is in front of the Ernst & Young building in downtown Los Angeles.
June 28th, 2006 15:58
The Troll from Turin, Italy looks very similar to a local landmark here in Seattle, the Freemont Troll.
June 28th, 2006 16:24
The cows laying down are in Toronto, Canada. The suspended rhino might be the one outside the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, looks like they’re moving it.
June 28th, 2006 16:26
Ginger, I’m with you. You’re right.
June 28th, 2006 16:29
Mm, I was wrong. Different Rhino!
June 28th, 2006 16:48
Ginger and cm,
I think you’re possibly missing the point of a lot of art — to provoke feelings. If it matters to you, it may be that in many of the cases the metallic genitalia are not quite as symbolically loaded as you might think. They’re just parts, exaggerated or fantasized for effect, be that effect purely aesthetic or political purpose.
I think that art allows us to bring to surface issues and turmoil and project them onto the pieces that we are experiencing, as you are clearly doing. I hope you guys get to resolve these issues within yourselves soon, before being further assaulted by the mere presence of art.
June 28th, 2006 17:16
Voltron statue in espagna
http://01files.com/images/1691973774Mazinger8.jpg
http://01files.com/?fileid=1594
http://01files.com/images/1597077940Mazinger8.jpg
June 28th, 2006 17:55
Fun collection.
There’s one in there that looks almost like a Lord of the Rings Nazgul (cloaked figure, no face) and I’m pretty sure it’s in Prague.
June 28th, 2006 18:06
http://www.laertsky.com/img/2003/grudnik.jpg
http://images17.fotki.com/v5/free/a4920/9/933252/3670718/partizan-vi.jpg
June 28th, 2006 18:21
Can someone please add the lizards at Leidseplein, Amsterdam? They look just like Komodo dragons! The stoned tourists can’t believe their eyes as they come out of the Bulldog
June 28th, 2006 19:20
Nise statues.
June 28th, 2006 19:28
Darth Vader on Washington National Cathedral
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/discover/darth.shtml
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/pdfs/darth.pdf
June 28th, 2006 19:56
I find it amazing how artist can make such statue’s. Love the foto’s, the art and it’s really special, because it’s outside, every one can enjoy it.
something I never could do for real.
Not like a painting hanging on the wall in a museum, where not everybody can get.
These collection feels like a world tourney from my chair
So thank you very much, I think this is great art!!!
June 28th, 2006 20:08
I enjoyed the slide show,I thought it was great.06/28/06
June 28th, 2006 20:15
the one toward the end with the marching band down the middle of the street is in Malmo, Sweeden. I’ve got pretty much an identical pic from when I was there a few months ago.
Would love to know where some of the others are!
June 28th, 2006 20:22
The fat bird (8th from bottom) is in Singapore, in front of the UOB Plaza. AddresS: 80 Raffles Place.
June 28th, 2006 20:32
Great sharing, tks guys. the 26th one is in Monaco. i have been there.
June 28th, 2006 20:41
Great collection, thanks.
Here’s a couple dozen photos of sculpture I took in Iceland in 2004, most of which are pretty strange:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fjarlq/tags/sculpture/
June 28th, 2006 20:43
“I think that art allows us to bring to surface issues and turmoil and project them onto the pieces that we are experiencing, as you are clearly doing. I hope you guys get to resolve these issues within yourselves soon, before being further assaulted by the mere presence of art.”
Thanks for the insight into my personal turmoil. Gee, all the while I just thought that I was annoyed at much of this public statuary because it was just unimaginative and adolescent. I see upside-down statues and such and imagine the sales pitch to the town committee overseeing the grant: “Imagine…a rider on a horse…but the horse is UPSIDE-DOWN! Heh? Get it? UPSIDE-DOWN!”. Or, “Ok, get this, there’s this guy, see, and he looks normal except HIS HEAD IS STUCK INTO A BUILDING! Imagine that!”
Honestly, it’s not about my turmoil, and these statues don’t “assault” me. I just find them weak, particularly since all of these try to impress by their strangeness, size, nudity, cliched surprise, etc. A
ren’t we allowed to find some art just plain poor?
June 28th, 2006 20:50
Ginger and CM -
No need to worry about your tax money being spent on these. None of the genital sculptures are found in the US - Americans are too much of a tight ass to allow these (oh! the children!). the rest of the world gets it - except maybe muslim countries where their censors rival only ours
June 28th, 2006 21:00
The marching band is is Malmo, Sweden. (http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2432378ebe211199777.jpg) There is another knotted gun there, similar to the one posted above.
June 28th, 2006 21:12
Ginger,
Yes, I think it’s best you don’t reproduce, you prudish reactionary snob. In fact, don’t even get naked until the world’s problems are solved. That will solve one of them.
June 28th, 2006 21:31
Mazinger statues are from Japan.
The phantom looking like a sitting Nazgul is from Prague.
June 28th, 2006 21:58
We found a great statue of Optimus Prime in China that you might be interested in. Here is a link to the photos:
http://www.karateparty.org/content/view/387/37/
June 28th, 2006 22:11
The thumb is in Paris, France. When I saw it, it stood in front of Le Grand Palais-not sure where they moved it from there. I remember reading a sign that said it would be relocated after the museum collection it was with was finished.
June 28th, 2006 23:00
that one that you said that was in italy, the giant with the car, IT’S IN SEATTLE YOU STUPID PEOPLE!! It’s the Fremont Giant
June 28th, 2006 23:11
Stunning, creative, provocative, comical, wierd, funny and most original. It made me look at life and art from a totally fresh perspective. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to collect, collate and post them on the web. C’est Magnifique!
June 28th, 2006 23:25
34.jpg is a depiction of a bread line at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC
June 28th, 2006 23:42
CM,
I do so look forward to your ideas as to what would make a “imaginative” public piece. Mind you, I’m not trying to pick a fight. But its not all about composition. There is alot of content and form and thought that goes into art that maybe you just take for granted. And as for the “adolescence” of the nude sculptures, unless you can prove to me that that is what the artist had in mind (to giggle at a penis) than i can come to no further conclusion other than you are just as close minded as those who would have these works of art torn down due to obsentiy.
June 28th, 2006 23:57
Don’t forget The Shaking Man outside the Metreon in San Francisco:
http://www.travelphotobase.com/f/CAFMY/CAF563.HTM
http://www.travelphotobase.com/f/CAFMY/CAF564.HTM
June 29th, 2006 00:09
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431b6125b914703845.jpg
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431c07282426879283.jpg
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431edc1a4570400108.jpg
These three are all in Prague. the rightwraith looking one is called “La Pieta” and the guy hanging there is “Comrade Lenin”.
June 29th, 2006 00:25
Then there’s the Dore Vase in San Francisco:
http://www.rightreading.com/ggp/dore.vase/dore.vase.htm
June 29th, 2006 01:33
That is nice. Thank you!
Here is some pictures, that I take in Barcelona
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/303.html
This is a real men:
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/339.html
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/338.html
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/340.html
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/341.html
http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/342.html
All from Barcelona: http://store1.data.bg/ddangtwyn/gallery/barcelona/
June 29th, 2006 01:39
ahemmmm…
tessa, you get the footnote wrong, the statue in turin (italy) is the one just after the seattle troll…
anyway, have a look here:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/1786330/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/1786318/
http://www.deviantart.com/view/1786322/
statues from the monumental graveyard in milano, italy.
M
June 29th, 2006 01:42
Very interesting indeed! I am constantly amazed at the minds of so many. Perhaps in my travels I will try to get more of the bizarre and weird on to my site.
June 29th, 2006 02:01
#16 is in La Defense near Paris, France.
#42 is a Georges Segal sculpture at the “grounds for sculpture” in Hamilton, NJ, USA (http://www.groundsforsculpture.org).
June 29th, 2006 02:03
Please, can someone help me ? I am very interested in knowing where is this statue from:
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431e38499343585596.jpg
June 29th, 2006 02:04
wait the #42 may not be the one i thought, maybe it’s the one at the FDR memorial in Washington DC? can anyone confirm this?
June 29th, 2006 02:27
that big ball of a bunch of stuff with like a chair attached that looks kind of like katamari is in berlin, germany. i used to live right near it til i moved a little further out.
June 29th, 2006 02:30
AWESOME collection!
Thanks to whoever posted it, I spent hours watching these statues, I wish I knew where each one was, if only I could visit all these places…
June 29th, 2006 03:08
funny pics! thank you for the collection!
I agree that same of them is not quite presentable and it’s not the Art. But they animalize many people that’s why they like such “art”. It is lyric
I proud that same pics is from Russia (my country). These are 107.jpg (the monument of famous russian writer Anton Chekhov by Usov situated in Tomsk) and 134.jpg (the monument of plumber situated in Omsk).
June 29th, 2006 03:12
Really nice!
I found some of the statues I encountered during my journeys.
It’s like making a world tour on a web page.
Thanks
June 29th, 2006 03:22
Isn’t the troll crushing the car featured in the movie “10 Things I Hate About You”? Its puzzling me!
June 29th, 2006 03:49
There’s some really good ones there lol. Suprised to see this one - http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2432023ef4690178074.jpg . It’s in my town - Cheltenham, UK.
June 29th, 2006 03:58
The statues on the image here
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431fbd093779872882.jpg
are by Carl Milles, a well known Swedish sculptor. They are the Millesgården in Stockholm (http://www.millesgarden.se/)
June 29th, 2006 04:11
hay hay hay
June 29th, 2006 04:41
Thumb is http://www.insecula.com/us/oeuvre/O0019041.html
June 29th, 2006 04:43
The statues are awesome. I will definately keep checking on this site to see if you all can tell us where more of these are… so on my travels ill be able to put them on my to see list.
Thank you for a wonderful site
June 29th, 2006 04:47
Those, which are listed below are in Yerevan city, Armenia.
111,
118,
133,
98(the last one in the list)
June 29th, 2006 04:52
Manneken Pis, Brussels, Belgium:
http://www.belgiumview.com/belgiumview/tl1/view0004164.php4
Staues in Leuven, Belgium:
http://www.leuven.be/showpage.asp?iPageID=1365
June 29th, 2006 05:15
Wonderful, funny, provocative.
CM, do you really claim, taht you fail to see the symbolics in the man with his head stuck inside the building? Notice the suit and the fact that the building is Ernest & Young´s.
Well, for each according to his taste…
June 29th, 2006 05:30
The one with the naked boys jumping into the river is from Singapore to show our old kampong life.
I loved these statues they really were interesting.I’d guess that tourists got shocked by some of them. I mean, a guy pointing a gun at you?
June 29th, 2006 05:31
Missed this one from Oxford, UK.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.headington.org.uk/pics/general/shark_big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.headington.org.uk/history/misc/shark.htm&h=552&w=350&sz=59&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=xFnnItXqVGSh9M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dheadington%2Bshark%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG
June 29th, 2006 05:32
(Sorry - more succintly)
http://www.headington.org.uk/history/misc/shark.htm
June 29th, 2006 05:44
Here is http://www.panoramix.ru/czech/prague/pictures/prague-9.html the oposite side of prague sculpture (#5 in your list)
June 29th, 2006 05:49
See also couple from Stochholm
http://www.panoramix.ru/sweden/stockholm/pictures/stockholm-2.html
and
http://www.panoramix.ru/sweden/stockholm/pictures/stockholm-18.html
June 29th, 2006 06:05
BTW http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a24319bd7a1647388567.jpg - this is in Tomsk, Russia. Man on the picture is Anton Chekhov (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov).
June 30th, 2006 06:36
Ik know the water tap, it’s close to my home in Wateringen, The Netherlands.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=wateringen+netherlands&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=52.028099,4.268274&spn=0.01777,0.054245
June 30th, 2006 08:13
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431e1c0b1100156967.jpg
This one is “Tête au carré” (the square head) by Sosno, Nice (France).
In fact it is a building.
You can see more in http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:T%C3%AAte_au_carr%C3%A9_nice.JPG
June 30th, 2006 11:11
Haha, I’m glad to see some of Melbourne statues made it in, the lanky business men are classics and usually someone has put a cigarette in their mouths for photo opportunities.
Next week I will have to go find the upside down one, got to get a photo of that.
Other wise this is a great collection, especially love the first one, what where they thinking? I don’t care, I love it.
I wish there where more like all of these, they make the place much happier and better.
June 30th, 2006 13:20
I love this statues
June 30th, 2006 15:36
Thanks. Great pictures!
June 30th, 2006 18:02
Awesome collection!
June 30th, 2006 18:29
-JB
Yes, #42 is at the FDR Memorial. The line of men are in line for bread b/c it’s the Great Depression. They are getting bread for their families.
June 30th, 2006 19:21
from catalonia
June 30th, 2006 19:26
http://images.google.es/imgres?imgurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/images/catalunya16.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/Image16.html&h=533&w=400&sz=53&hl=es&start=28&tbnid=304lGfiJPEs9lM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmuseu%2Bdal%25C3%25AD%2B%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Des%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
http://images.google.es/imgres?imgurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/images/catalunya16.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/Image16.html&h=533&w=400&sz=53&hl=es&start=28&tbnid=304lGfiJPEs9lM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmuseu%2Bdal%25C3%25AD%2B%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Des%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
http://images.google.es/imgres?imgurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/images/catalunya16.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.traveler-guide.net/fotos/catalunya/Image16.html&h=533&w=400&sz=53&hl=es&start=28&tbnid=304lGfiJPEs9lM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmuseu%2Bdal%25C3%25AD%2B%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Des%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
July 1st, 2006 02:00
WOW THAT IS SOCRAZY FOR ME
July 1st, 2006 04:54
Once upon a time, art was about portraying the transcendent. It was about a higher truth, something that uplifted the human spirit.
I love art and I love public art. Though many of the works are interesting and artistic, too many of the statues shown here are about the artist and how clever he is. Too many are about provoking the viewer, rather than engaging him. Too many are pornographic and inappropriate for a public place (do you really need to see a bronze blowjob? Do you honestly think it’s appropriate for children to see something like that?).
July 1st, 2006 06:26
interesting!!!
July 1st, 2006 07:17
rotfl… excellent photos!
July 1st, 2006 07:37
wow, that was funny. thank you
July 1st, 2006 11:34
Hehehe, estupid spanish people ¿Why would anyone call a Mazinger Z statue a “Voltron” statue?
July 1st, 2006 12:26
Sorry but Spanish statue is not Voltron. Mazinger Z is correct.
I’m spanish, of course!.
n_n
July 1st, 2006 13:12
“Once upon a time, art was about portraying the transcendent.”
What is so transcendent about an ox on a wall?
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/study/images/cave_painting_l.jpg
July 1st, 2006 14:16
Great Photo s absalutly a waste of time to look at them on the inet though
July 1st, 2006 17:02
Comment 101 from squidley leaves us in little doubt that the poster is anerican, sex-phobic, probably religious (in all the wrong ways) and rather frightening overall. How any of these could be considered “pornographic” escapes me - but does give some interesting insights into Squidley’s mindset.
July 1st, 2006 17:20
nice)
July 2nd, 2006 04:16
Wow! This is really a great collection. Thanks so much!
July 2nd, 2006 05:25
очень позабавлено, в этом месте больше скульптур
this blog more sculptures:
http://sexculptures.blogspot.com/
July 2nd, 2006 06:01
Very Interesting!! Thanks for sharing them.
Art is in the eye of the beholder! But a
Bronze Blowjob?
Jo Beverly
July 2nd, 2006 12:57
In Richmond, Virginia at a stadium there’s a huge fiberglass Native American sort of crawling out of the roof of part of it.
July 2nd, 2006 13:07
If folks are referring to the woman with her head resting on the man with the cross’ knee, I do not see any suggestion of a blowjob there at all. She looks like she is exhausted and resting. To me it reads more about salvation and comfort, than any sexual encounter. Look at the position of her head and arms. She looks like she feels safe. Her exposed sexuality most definitely factors into it, but in a way that is not so cheap as a blowjob. And you would not see it from the street, the photographer went under her skirt to get that photo.
July 3rd, 2006 00:02
It is interesting, one day in the future If i have chance I could stand next site of these statues.
July 3rd, 2006 03:40
The photo http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431f157ee849819495.jpg
of the children playing is from an statue in Atocha RailStation, Madrid, Spain
Güimi
http://guimi.net
July 4th, 2006 05:49
Fabulous!
July 4th, 2006 08:08
The one with the water coming out of the breasts is in Nuremberg, just FYI
July 4th, 2006 11:05
it’s really a fantasy website. I love it so much. thanks!
July 4th, 2006 12:13
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431dec772133648174.jpg
is in Bremen, Germany.
July 4th, 2006 14:02
“Once upon a time, art was about portraying the transcendent. It was about a higher truth, something that uplifted the human spirit.”
Once upon a time?! It’s still about portraying the transcendent, it’s also about engaging the viewer, provoking them, exaulting them, and so many other things - it’s rare that two people have the exact same reactions to art, that’s what makes it so wonderful!
“Too many are about provoking the viewer, rather than engaging him.”
Much like editorial journalism sometimes provocation has it’s purposes as it causes people to think for themselves about something they might otherwise ignore, and in doing so causes them to choose a course of action or inaction that may help to have some change (positive or negative) upon societies in general.
“Too many are pornographic and inappropriate for a public place (do you really need to see a bronze blowjob? Do you honestly think it’s appropriate for children to see something like that?).”
If you’re referring to the three photos of a man on a bench with a woman on all fours before him, photos 10, 11 and 12 counting up from the bottom, look more closely at them. For starters the woman is -not- performing oral sex, her head is on his leg, her face is clearly pointed -away- from his groin. Look at the man closely, he’s wearing a cross, the look on his face (to me) is one of acceptance, even forgiveness. The clothing he’s wearing reminds me of what missionaries wear to more tropical environments. Without knowing what the name of the statue is or reading a plaque near it there’s no way for me to know what the artist was really aiming for, but in viewing it my own reaction wasn’t to assume it’s about oral sex and therefore pornographic.
Would I consider it inappropriate for a child to see that piece because of the very clear depiction of the womans genitalia? Nope, not at all because it’s only in places like America (my home, by the by), where such images are immediately viewed as being in some way sexual and therefore pornographic and wrong.
Nudity is not inherently sexual or deviant in nature, Americans are merely repressive prudes, something we can barely help at times, thanks to puritanical beginnings that it’s difficult to move away from. (I’m sure the whole world got a VERY good laugh at us about Janet Jacksons “wardrobe malfunction” and the subsequent brief glimpse of a breast which put half the country into a bizarre uproar about decency. Sheesh, people.. it’s a breast, grow up eh? But that’s a whole different topic…)
All in all I found the collection to be quite lovely, with only a few of the pieces being something I personaly would consider vulgar and inapporpriate for public display. But then again, vulgarity doesn’t necessarily make something inappropriate, nor are all things that aren’t vulgar necessarily appropriate (I found the piece of the pregnant woman, with one side of the statue being an ‘inside view’, far more inappropriate and less artistic than many others, but that’s just -my opinion-).
Oh and Happy Fourth of July.
~Synistrel~
July 4th, 2006 14:33
83.jpg is in Trafalgar Square, London
July 4th, 2006 16:07
Neat!
July 5th, 2006 06:09
ok, that’s art anyway. and art is to be consumed, no matter you like it or dislike it. its only purpose is to be seen, and to think over it. it’s simple.
July 5th, 2006 06:11
Hey..These pictures are great..really..And most of the statues seem very real also..The people who made most of the statues must be very imaginative and good in what they are doing. I was impressed by almost all of the pictures. Some of them represent modern art..some of them have classical approaches. Otherwise..many thanks for the photographer who had this idea..Some day I would like to see an album with the most spectacular views-landscapes, events..-in the world. That would also be something nice.
Goodluck in everything!
July 5th, 2006 08:15
i love the picture with the priest and the sinner
July 5th, 2006 10:56
I always thought the typewriter eraser in the National Sculpture Garden in DC was pretty cool.
http://www.nga.gov/feature/sculpturegarden/sculpture/sculpture1-fs.shtm
July 5th, 2006 11:32
uhauhhaa
July 5th, 2006 11:32
uhauhhaa
July 5th, 2006 12:11
I found the entire collection exhilarating, amusing and thoughtful in varying degrees, and it was great fun all the way.
July 5th, 2006 14:37
pai sa scrie si romanu daca tot nu are ce face
mai rar asa ceva
July 5th, 2006 16:36
おもしろかった
July 6th, 2006 02:47
Todos los monumentos son mios, que les pasa.
July 6th, 2006 03:56
nava..as vrea sa am cateva statui din alea aks
July 6th, 2006 04:27
The little boy stamping his foot is in Frogner Park in Oslo which features sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.
July 6th, 2006 06:26
fantastic! ty
July 6th, 2006 06:33
Yep, the photos are great! And it’d be nice to tell more exactly where they are situated and something more about them. For example, the statue on the pic with the header “Russia (thanks littlebat)” - is situated in Tomsk, and the man is Chekhov, one of the greatest russian writers:)
July 6th, 2006 06:39
Very nice stuff to look at! Does anyone know where this one is from?
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a24320991e9866475750.jpg
July 6th, 2006 07:07
Just 3 letters - L O L
July 6th, 2006 07:21
There are more strange statues:
1. Goettingen, Germany:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315601/27659495/
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315601/27659494/
2.Bremen, Germany:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1313448/27658264/
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1313448/27658122/
3.Malmoe, Sweden:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315642/27703921/
4.Goslar, Germany:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315625/27660398/
5.Cologne, Germany:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315611/27659856/
7. Hannover, Germany:
http://photofile.ru/users/junestasy/1315606/27659712/
July 6th, 2006 09:50
wuppertal, germany:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/crissty80/wuppertalstatuia.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/crissty80/AA003.jpg
bremen, germany:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/crissty80/porcarulbremen.jpg
July 6th, 2006 10:05
Like are they for real?
Some are trully incredible!
July 6th, 2006 14:19
I greatly appreciate your blend of prose and photography. And to allow the prose to be continuously infused with comments, (both Strange and insightful), is pure genius. Ty all for your efforts.
peace
July 6th, 2006 14:34
The hooded figure in Prague is labeled “Il Commendatore,” which identifies it as representing the character in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” father of Donna Anna; Giovanni tries to rape her, her father intervenes, the Don kills him, at the opera’s end the Commendatore’s stone mmonument comes to dinner at the Don’s house and takes the Don away to Hell.
Someone above remarked that “once upon a time art was about the transcendent.” Oh? “Don Giovanni,” transcendent? The famous “Mannekin Pis” fountain in the Netherlands, transcendent? The smutty frescoes in Pompeii? The homoerotic vase paintings of Classical Greece? Even the idea that there’s something called “art”–let alone that it’s “about the transcendent” and nothing else–is relatively modern and local. Some of what we call “art” began as objects of worship, or visualized narrative (the Bayeux Tapestry), or displays of royal power; transcendence never entered into it, and “art”–for the makers, thought not necessarily for us–was a secondary by-product, if that. Finally, the cry of “That’s not art!” has been raised against, let’s see, Courbet, Van Gogh, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, and James MacNeill Whistler. But “art” isn’t an exclusive seal of approval that someone–who? Ginger? John Ruskin?– has the authority to bestow.
July 6th, 2006 15:52
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431cd2a7a405150622.jpg
The twisted gun is in Stockholm, and is a small copy of the one outside UN:
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/photo22917.htm
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431b6125b914703845.jpg
The hooded empty cloak is in Salzburg, right besides the cathedral.
Locate the four arches on this panorama, where the castle is visible in the background:
http://www.appesbach.com/salzburg-tour.php?panorama=6
The sculpture is located under the leftmost arch where it has a view of the castle.
http://www.annachromy.com/en/austria/salzburg.shtml
July 6th, 2006 20:04
i love ‘em baby, LOVE ‘EM. it don’t matter if you is talkin’ art Or arse, thems statues is doin’ their jobbos! p.s. fuck the begrudgers. MORE MORE MORE
July 6th, 2006 23:44
About Mazinger Z in Spain: this statue is located exactly in a place called ‘Mas del Plata’, near a village called ‘el Pla de Santa Maria’, 30Km north-west from the city of Tarragona, 90Km south from Barcelona, that is, in Catalonia. I’ve been there many times and I know it was built around 25 years ago when the cartoon series was very popular in Spain as a ‘hook’ for atracting families to buy a piece of land in that place.
Another thing, Mazinger has never been Voltron in Spain.
July 7th, 2006 01:40
Here’s another one:
http://www.spaansetapas.be/fotos/elculo.jpg
It is known as ‘El Culo’ (in English ‘the ass’) and it can be found in Oviedo, in Spain.
July 7th, 2006 03:41
абасцака
July 7th, 2006 04:04
133.jpg - Yerevan, Armenia
July 7th, 2006 04:06
suntetzi toti niste muisti! sugeti pulaaaaaaaaaa
pula pula pula
July 7th, 2006 04:10
miracle!
July 7th, 2006 05:26
ЖЖОТЕ СУКИ!!!!
July 7th, 2006 08:21
Красиво!
July 7th, 2006 08:29
Moscow, MEPHI Univercity
http://files.programer.ru/statue.jpg
July 7th, 2006 08:36
Excelente!! algunos dan risa =)
Les dejo una de Punta del Este - Uruguay
http://imerl.fing.edu.uy/clapem/fotos/mano.jpg
Saludos
July 7th, 2006 10:01
Very nice!
The statue with two lovers kissing is in Kharkov, Ukraine.
July 7th, 2006 12:22
очень интересно. но из России мало примеров. у нас много веселых памятников. только в том маленьком городе гда я живу подобных памятника три.
July 7th, 2006 14:16
Hi !
Great !
Where could we send some contributions ?
I would suggest this one, stockholm.
http://photos.s-urbs.net/index.php?gallery=./Europe/David_-_Stockholm%2C_Mai_2006&image=sDSC01180.JPG
Cheers
david
July 7th, 2006 18:38
Inspiring selection! Glad to be reminded imagination is here and there, alive and well.
Look see my addition, ‘gods for future religions!’
http://www.hobaron.com
July 7th, 2006 18:39
Foarte frumoase statuile, iar romanii noshtri nu sunt buni deloc in a posta impresii (era unu’ mai sus cu carne in gura), dar pentru ca era vorba de statui … nishte minunatii…
Felicitari colectionarului si celor ce au colaborat cu el….
Succes!!!
July 7th, 2006 19:23
Great collection - thanks a lot for publishing all these photos!
96.jpg is from Kyiv, Ukraine. It commemorates a local comedy actor truly beloved by public - he liked to sit at that very place with his old dog.
July 7th, 2006 23:02
Another great one is “The Awakening” in Washington D.C.
http://www.pbase.com/april_sims/image/34768125
July 7th, 2006 23:21
The mona lisa image (44a2431ea3a37846342056.jpg) is currently located in the Asus headquarters in Taiwan. It’s made up of hundreds of computer chips. Some better pictures of it (in Asus’s lobby) are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifter/177199277/in/set-698386/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifter/177200440/in/set-698386/
July 8th, 2006 04:57
Композиция рыбаки с сетью 119.jpg (44a2431a4fcf1366367603.jpg) находится в России г.Петрозаводск на набережной
July 8th, 2006 08:04
sehr sehr schon!!!!vai vai…:))super mishto:P
July 8th, 2006 08:45
Very cool!!!
July 8th, 2006 10:41
Great collection!
Check out this mini statue, that was mysteriously placed in a tree by an unknown artist in the centre of Amsterdam
http://www.xs4all.nl/~goede88/Amsterdam_W/Zagertje.htm
People like it so much that it’s here to stay.
July 8th, 2006 13:47
Wow, what a great collection!
Congratulations.
Greetz,
Joris (Belgium)
July 8th, 2006 13:47
Tokyo:
http://triotoxico.blogspot.com/2006/05/inq-ataca-tokyo.html
Near Valls (Tarragona, Spain):
http://triotoxico.blogspot.com/2006/06/nos-adelantanen-casi-todo.html
July 8th, 2006 13:49
I have a picture of it, but it’s not on line…there’s a statue of a businessman with his hand extended to shake another’s hand. But he has four legs and four hands.
I think it’s in Moscone Center, in San Fancisco, USA
July 8th, 2006 14:49
Eu vou passar “lambida” no pescoço se vier com essas atitudes de imbecil, atitude de CALHORDA!!! São uns Vandalos!!!
July 9th, 2006 06:42
foarte frumos,imi place cea ce am vazut..:)
July 9th, 2006 07:05
Hey, fantástica colección.
¡Esto es arte!
Felicidades por tú blog
Besos
July 9th, 2006 07:30
125.jpg (the eights image in the “around the globe gallery”) is from Monaco,Monte-Carlo, France: Botero’s view of Adam and Eve - Princess Grace gardens.
http://www.travel-images.com/monaco2.html
July 9th, 2006 09:23
the purpose of art is to produce “catharsis”, isn’t it? a most sensitive and art-loving man, alex chirita had probably been so touched by the exquisite collection you shared with us that he couldn’t control the devastating impulses of his delicate soul and manifested them verbally..I won’t translate for those who don’t speak Romanian… Thanks God there are so few of us who do…
As for the statues..some of them are really strange / funny / interesting, others are…???!!! Hm, aren’t they ???!! I have the decency to admit that I neither understand, nor like some of them… Thanks, anyway …
July 9th, 2006 09:32
Dear Synistrel,
GOD SAVE AMERICA!!!! Though I sincerely doubt he can….
July 9th, 2006 11:12
What a collection! All sorts of adjectives could apply, in my opinion: beautiful, moving, weird, ugly, shocking, obscene, hugely imaginative, humorous, thought-provoking, depressing, and so on. It all depends on one’s point of view. This collection is a good illustration of the fact that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. I agree with other viewers that the titles of the works, the artists’ names, and the locations of all of them would be helpful. Some I’d like to see, and some I’d like to avoid if possible.
Leonore H. Dvorkin
Denver, Colorado USA
Website: http://www.dvorkin.com
July 9th, 2006 13:25
Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder..and to criticize any type of art form, well, just shows your narrow mindedness. Just say you don’t understand and be done with it! Human sexuality, and all it entails, is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Maybe if people were more open minded & less self centered, the world would be a better place to live in.
I thought they were great! Thank You for sharing
July 10th, 2006 02:19
It’s a Kharkov - the Monument enamoured
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a24320631a6245657786.jpg
July 10th, 2006 07:09
Man and woman 125.jpg - monte carlo
July 10th, 2006 07:19
mama voastra e o putana
July 10th, 2006 09:46
http://pics.livejournal.com/demontagu/pic/00001k8g.jpg
Cologne, Germany (Köln, Deutschland)
July 10th, 2006 10:09
wei suo nan
china
http://images3.enet.com.cn//upmessage/up200407/100629716.jpg
July 10th, 2006 12:20
How nice to see two statues from my hometown in this collection… albeit “uncredited”.
Two of those statues are in Nuremberg, Germany.
The pictures with the girls with water jets coming from their nipples is from the “Fountain of Virtues” in front of St. Lorenz church, a 16 century bronze fountain.
6 Pictues above that, the naked skinny guy looking down is also in Nuremberg, in front of St. Clara church near the train station. I think its contemporary.
July 10th, 2006 13:02
I see the one for Cheltenham (The weird rabbit and whatever the other thing is sitting down on a bench) loads because I live near Cheltenham. It freaks me out.
And I’ve learnt about the woman with short arms and legs at school.
The rest are just plain weird!!!
July 10th, 2006 14:19
super fotky a ještě lepšísoch a sousoší a sedím doma a koch;ám se pohledy z celého světa
July 10th, 2006 14:49
Where is the statue ‘women exposing her pussy sucking the mans dick’ from?
July 10th, 2006 14:52
skoopy.com is a great website. hit me up i can help you out. i have a great idea for this site.
July 10th, 2006 16:08
Picture #78
“Lovers” Kharkiv, Ukraine
July 10th, 2006 16:21
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431e8f06d292396818.jpg
brussels, belgium
July 10th, 2006 21:31
I enjoyed them all , thank-you
July 10th, 2006 21:39
http://www.fileden.com/public/2006/6/28/44a2431e8f06d292396818.jpg is in brussels, place SAINTECLETTE
July 11th, 2006 01:05
It is good idea to collect strange statues around the world. Thank you!
There are sculptures from South Korea (Suwon WorldCup Stadium)
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0657.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0694.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0696.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0706.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0708.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0711.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0714.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0715.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0721.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0732.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0735.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0736.jpg (it’s really stranger sculpture)
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2469/1604/1600/IMG_0764.0.jpg
July 11th, 2006 03:05
Hi all,
Thanks so much for your sharing. I wish I will have chances to see all these statues in real life and take photos with them. Just to keep record of greatness, dedication and time.
July 11th, 2006 04:47
Statue in front of teh institute for microbiology at tuebingen university (germany)
greets, Christian
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5133/tuebingen7sl.jpg
July 11th, 2006 06:05
KizZ: that three photos are from Czech, Prague =)
July 11th, 2006 06:34
Great !
July 11th, 2006 06:49
It make me sad, cuz there are so many place I’ve never seen..
July 11th, 2006 06:51
SUT PREA TARI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 11th, 2006 07:41
goood “scroll” wow very good “scroll” man who made this ?
July 11th, 2006 08:11
Very interesting. Creative work!
July 11th, 2006 10:23
Great…except the upside down statue of La Trobe is *NOT* real. There is a real statue of La Trobe in Melbourne (in the Treasury Gardens) but it is the right way up - the photo here has been photoshopped (or similar)!