"We replicate what the perfect girl is." (SLYTP) No nudity, but may be NSFW.
posted by desjardins on Aug 4, 2008 - 59 comments

The Terracotta Army (a tiny part of which is now visiting Southern California) occupies the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, where they have resided for over two thousand years. Flickr hosts some outstanding photographs of the army in place, such as these sets and this panorama (see also the UNESCO site in the main link for a QuickTime panorama and brief video). Thanks to Google, you can see a satellite view of the tomb. And while the subtitling leaves something to be desired, YT hosts a documentary on the warriors. (The warriors have made brief appearances in other posts here and here.) [more inside]
posted by thomas j wise on Aug 1, 2008 - 10 comments

Ten highest monuments around the world
posted by Wolfdog on Jun 19, 2007 - 31 comments

The artists participating in Operation Fragmentation were given an unpainted vinyl doll (with a grenade shaped head) and an Army surplus ammo case and let loose to create what they wished. The results are really great, with the steampunk automoton, the peace dove & the explosive genie in a bottle being my three favorites.
posted by jonson on Dec 22, 2006 - 6 comments

Christ of the Deep.
posted by jonson on Nov 5, 2006 - 44 comments

TIBET is an artist who works entirely underground (literally) in Stockholm, Sweden. All of his work is done only in the most hidden of places, and very few people will ever get to see it. Each statue is made of concrete and are 11" tall and weigh about 5 pounds each. They are glued, welded or drilled into the solid rock and will stay there for a very, very long time. via
posted by jonson on Oct 29, 2006 - 14 comments

Strange Statues From Around the World
posted by IndigoJones on Jul 1, 2006 - 40 comments

beacon of bliss Quality images of a deity to help calm outrage or anxious mutterings
posted by longsleeves on Jun 13, 2005 - 18 comments

Naked Washington. The Boy Scout Memorial statues in Washington, DC always struck me as a bit odd. Why is this kid leading a naked man? Or maybe, better, why is a naked man pursuing this kid? Maybe if the guy from Naked Washington gets his book sold, we will all know. Meanwhile, it's available on CD.
posted by dances_with_sneetches on Jan 27, 2005 - 8 comments

Stand By Your Statue - like all the best ideas, this one is simplicity itself: you find a statue, you stand by it and imitate it while one of your mates takes a photograph. What could be easier? What could be more entertaining? It's the kind of thing the Internet was invented for!
posted by The Ultimate Olympian on Jan 17, 2005 - 23 comments

Bask in the glory of one of Australia's greatest tourist attractions.
posted by Vaska on Jan 10, 2005 - 14 comments

Half the man he used to be or Copper John can't go to the john anymore.
posted by Bag Man on Sep 1, 2004 - 8 comments

The Little Mermaid Explodes. This is only the latest in a long series of indignities suffered by Denmark's national symbol. Why are people so into this sort of thing?
posted by alms on Sep 17, 2003 - 21 comments

...“To be honest, I get sick every time I tell someone I am from Mostar [in Bosnia] and they ask me whether I am from the east or west side of the city (the city is divided into the Bosniak east side and the Croat west side),” said Nino Raspudic. “That is one of the reasons for building a statue of Bruce Lee. We are hoping that someone in the future will say: “I knew Mostar. That is the city with the Bruce Lee statue. If we succeed in that, then I can retire.”
posted by talos on Sep 15, 2003 - 6 comments

"If the Sons of Confederate Veterans can't oppose a statue of President Lincoln, we can't do anything," said Bragdon Bowling, Virginia division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He then added, "You don't build monuments to conquerors."

Ah, life in the modern South... it is so nice to see how far we've come, eh?
posted by grabbingsand on Apr 6, 2003 - 68 comments

Justice Department Coverup Attorney General John Ashcroft was fed up with having his picture taken during events in the Great Hall in front of semi-nude statues. So he has ordered massive draperies to conceal the offending figures (cost: 8,000 bucks)
posted by matteo on Jan 26, 2002 - 40 comments

Criticism Over WTC Statue Race Issues -- I'm sure many of you are familiar with a recent photo featuring three firefighters raising an American flag over the WTC rubble. Now a company has been commissioned to make a statue of the photo at FDNY Brooklyn Headquarters. In the statue though, the three white men who were originally depicted in the photo have been transformed into one white man, one black man, and one Hispanic man. There has been criticism over whether it is going to far to make these changes in order to be politically correct. Others are saying the statue should be more of a symbolic representation of all ethnicities that sacrificed themselves during this tragedy. What do you think?
posted by yevge on Jan 12, 2002 - 36 comments

An Archaeological Find For Our Times? Indian archaeologists have uncovered two ancient statutes, believed to be representative of Ashoka, an emperor who, after a brutal climb to the throne, switched over to Buddhism and attempted to create a just society.
posted by ed on Nov 9, 2001 - 6 comments

New! Jesus Sports Statues. When you saw the Buddy Christ idea in the movie Dogma you thought it was a funny, yet biting swipe at the Catholic Church. But apparently Catholics think it's a great idea. These figurines have already sold out. Jesus playing tackle football is my favorite.
posted by y6y6y6 on May 31, 2001 - 31 comments

'I Feel A Great, Personal Loss' Conservationist Rakhaldas Sengupta spent nine years restoring the world's tallest Buddha statues...
This has been covered by MeFi before but Sengupta has a perspective on the statues that hasn't come to light yet. To think that the Taleban is destroying these 1700 year old statues breaks my heart. I hope I never understand the reasoning of religious zealots.
posted by gen on Mar 9, 2001 - 8 comments

Revisionism the Taliban Way Talibans rub off giant Buddhist statues with mortars. The Mullah says it's all written in the Coran, but the Holy book says to respect other religions and the Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of different cultures for centuries, always juxtaposing Islam with Buddhism.

The Taliban want to remove any reminders of the centuries before Islam when Afghanistan was a center of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage.

More coverage and pictures.
posted by pecus on Mar 2, 2001 - 22 comments