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Strange Statues & Sculptures

They probably just wanted to know if you can polish a turd.

Yes, you can:


“You can’t polish poop.

BUSTED

Adam and Jamie visited a zoo to obtain a variety of feces to try to polish. They tried to pick the most polishable candidates and baked them to remove the moisture. Adam tried to shine his poop with a buffing wheel, while Jamie reasoned that using a wax polish would result in a shine. Adam eventually sought the advice of an outside expert, who showed him that it was possible to apply a shine to dirt with a tedious technique. Applying this technique, Adam and Jamie were able to obtain very polished poop without using any foreign materials like polish.”

https://mythresults.com/end-with-a-bang

maximus otter
 
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An organization in Detroit commissioned a large metal statue of Robocop, but recently suspended the project after the statue had been created. The mayor of Stevens Point, Wisconsin - Peter Weller's hometown - is now working to either obtain the Detroit statue or make one of their own.
The Mayor on a Mission to Bring a RoboCop Statue to His City

Mike Wiza, mayor of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, wants to score an 11-foot-tall replica of the cyborg police officer from the 1980s action film. But if that effort fails, the city might see about making its own—possibly bigger—version. ...

The bronze statue, created by a Detroit-based sculptor, was a crowd-funded project slated to be installed at the Michigan Science Center. But the center backed out last month, saying in a statement that “unprecedented pressures” from the coronavirus pandemic had forced the organization to refocus its resources ...

When Wiza heard the news, the idea came to him instantly. Peter Weller, the actor who portrayed RoboCop, was born and raised in Stevens Point. What better place for a RoboCop statue?

“When the science center said they didn’t want it, I said, ‘That’s unfortunate, but heck, we’re interested,’” Wiza said. “Being Peter Weller’s hometown, I thought it was pretty appropriate.” ...

Wiza began reaching out to anyone he thought could help, including Brandon Walley, a Detroit-based filmmaker who helped launch the crowdfunding campaign for the project. In an email, Walley told the mayor he appreciated the offer of a permanent home for the monument, but “our mandate has always been to have our little RoboStatue ... in Detroit proper.” ...

Shortly after, a local arts advocacy group reached out to the mayor with a suggestion—if the city couldn’t procure the existing statue, why not make a new one? ...

“If this 11-foot statue in Detroit falls through, and they decide to keep it in Detroit, I think we should make ours 12 feet tall,” he said. “Some cities have tanks or cannons in their town square. We’d like to have RoboCop.” ...

FULL STORY (With Illustrations): https://www.route-fifty.com/infrastructure/2021/03/part-man-part-machine-all-statue/172701/
 
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The originally posted links in this earlier post were dead, and so was the website to which they pointed. Here is an updated version of the original post with as many photos as could be (a) salvaged from the Wayback Machine or (b) replaced with a substitute once the identity of the originally cited sculpture could be determined.

I found these ones most disturbing. They just seem ...unnecessary.

Woman sucked into floor
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Freemont Troll *shudder*
Link is dead. No archived version found. Here's a substitute.
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SOURCE / FULL STORY: https://web.archive.org/web/20070602015512/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAtroll.html
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Giant square head - why?
Photo is MIA. Here is a substitute.
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Virgin mother - horror!
Link dead; photo MIA. Here is a substitute image of this Damien Hirst statue.
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last four photos - unspeakable horror!
Link dead; Photos MIA. No archived versions found.
Just very ugly disembodied parts

Where I'm from I've never come across structures quite so - unusual. Maybe that's partially why they bother me so much, but I cannot imagine encountering these on a regular basis, say on my commute to work for instance. Would drive me crazy. There's a psychology study in here somewhere.
If anyone knows the story behind any of these statues please share.
Link dead; Photos MIA. No archived versions found.
 
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The folks associated with the church in the background aren't happy about their view of a new 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn Monroe ...
That June 2018 note was posted while the giant Marilyn Monroe statue was being exhibited in the Los Angeles metro area. The statue is now moving back to its original location (Palm Springs), and the considerable controversies have followed it back home.

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Giant Marilyn Monroe Statue Returns To Palm Springs, But Its Backside Faces Backlash

After seven years, Palm Springs, Calif., is about to scratch its Marilyn Monroe itch. A towering sculpture of the screen icon called "Forever Marilyn" that spent almost two years in the city is coming back permanently.

When she was there from 2012 to 2014, she was one of downtown's hottest attractions. But while some like it hot, others have a frostier take on the star's comeback.

The sculpture itself is a 26-foot-tall, stainless steel and aluminum likeness that captures Marilyn in that famously billowing white dress as she stands over a subway grate in the movie The Seven Year Itch. ...

But not everyone is smiling at the thought of the colossal statue taking up residence in the heart of town. Louis Grachos, the director of the Palm Springs Art Museum, is among those glowering.

"Forever Marilyn" is slated to go in front of the entrance of his museum, but she won't be facing the door. The 26-foot tall statue will be baring her backside to visitors as they exit the facility. ...

Fighting the battle on another front is the Committee to Relocate Marilyn. Led by fashion designer Trina Turk, it's not raising concerns over sexism and the statue's pose. Instead, they're putting the focus on complex local regulations and city planning. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.npr.org/2021/05/16/9965...-to-palm-springs-but-its-backside-faces-backl
 
The 'woman sucked into floor' reminds me of a Star Trek episode.
Can't remember which one.
TNG i think, maybe the one with the 'pegasus' cloaking device thing gone wrong?
 
Dont know where this statue is but its certainly weird

It's in Beijing ... Here's the caption from an earlier posting of the very same photo.

A sculpture of a baby on a tank is displayed outside a cafe at the 798 art zone, a decommissioned machine tool factory in Beijing, China 14 May 2009.
SOURCE
 
A "Mount Recyclemore" sculpture of G7 leaders (analogous to the American Mt. Rushmore) has been erected to publicize the problem of electronic waste and recycling.

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G7: 'Mount Recyclemore' of leaders made from electronic waste in Cornwall

A sculpture of the G7 leaders shaped like Mount Rushmore made of electronic waste has been erected in Cornwall ahead of the G7 Summit.

It has been named "Mount Recyclemore" and bids to highlight the damage caused by the disposal of electronic devices.

Sculptor Joe Rush said he hoped it would show they needed to be made more easily reusable or recyclable.

He said: "It needs to be repairable or made to last longer because the stuff is going into landfill."

According to a United Nations report, more than 53 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019 - over 9 million tonnes more than five years earlier. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-57406136
 
Perhaps more awe-inspiring than strange, this hand and a chunk of elbow is all that remains of this colossal statue of Hercules, dating from around 160 AD.
It is in the ruins of the temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan.
Based on the size of the fragments, the original statue would have stood in excess of 40ft / 12.2 metres, making it one of the largest marble statues ever.

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Perhaps more awe-inspiring than strange, this hand and a chunk of elbow is all that remains of this colossal statue of Hercules, dating from around 160 AD.
It is in the ruins of the temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan.
Based on the size of the fragments, the original statue would have stood in excess of 40ft / 12.2 metres, making it one of the largest marble statues ever.

View attachment 41777

View attachment 41778

Ozymandias​

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
 

Ozymandias​

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
I've been there.

That's the Ramesseum outside Luxor.
Surprisingly, it was a fairly quiet spot in 1998, the wife, myself and our guide were the only ones there.

The feet are part of a rose granite statue that was transported down from beyond Aswan. Astonishing. Thought to be about 65 feet tall originally, of memory serves.
 
I'm familiar with that sculptor's work. He's become even better at it than before. Wow.
 
That is amazing. Are the bags bronze as well?
 
Duane Hanson died in 1996. That sculpture is most likely to be wax, not bronze.
 
That is amazing. Are the bags bronze as well?
Duane Hanson died in 1996. That sculpture is most likely to be wax, not bronze.
From the look of it, that's certainly more likely.
The figure is bronze, painted with oil paints. The attire and accessories are what they seem to be (i.e., not metal or other sculpted material).
Orlando International Airport's "The Traveler" is one of two depictions of a sleeping traveler by the artist, who created a similar statue two years later. The second, however, is a little less airport appropriate attire, sporting nothing underneath his completely undone shirt.

The statues were made of bronze polychromed in oil, found clothing, hair, a duffel bag and sleeping bag, wooden sticks and paper tickets.
https://www.newsweek.com/duane-hans...national-airport-florida-tiktok-video-1615587
 
Wow, it is bronze. Amazing.
 
This statue of a drowning girl in Spain is intended to motivate reflection on the eventual effects of climate change. Each day the face gets progressively submerged by the tide.
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Drowning girl statue causes a stir in Bilbao

Staring impassively out from the murky waters of Bilbao's River Nervion, the eerily lifelike face of a young girl drowning in the tide has been unsettling people in the Spanish city since she appeared unannounced last week.

Mexican hyperrealist artist Ruben Orozco created the enigmatic figure, entitled 'Bihar' ('Tomorrow' in Basque) for a campaign by the BBK Foundation ... to encourage debate around sustainability. ...

As the tides rise and fall, the 120 kg (264 lb) fibreglass figure is submerged and uncovered each day, which BBK said was a reflection on what could happen "if we continue to bet on unsustainable models" such as those that contribute to climate change.

Bilbao residents awoke to the installation last Thursday after it was taken by boat and lowered into the river near the city centre at the dead of night. ...
FULL STORY (With More Photos & Video): https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/drowning-girl-statue-causes-stir-bilbao-2021-09-28/
 
I think the only thing that is going to motivate is nightmares in children.
 
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