I thought I'd feature some statues running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
These are much bigger than your average barnyard fowl, though. See that red arrow I so artfully drew on the image? There's a human lady under it. That's to give you an idea of the size of these sculptures. The lady comes up to about crotch height of the statue.
(I can say "crotch" on my blog, right?)
Where they're situated,there's a good view of the downtown Vancouver horizon, if the statues had heads, let alone eyes with which to see it. Nevertheless, they must have sensed something--some longing for a change of venue, of purpose in life-- because there was suddenly a movement, a surge, almost a galumphing of legs
as the statues moved en masse.
(It seems that one of them might have wet himself with excitement or fear,
judging from the little puddle on an otherwise dry plaza.)
I would say they were heading off in a new direction, save for the fact that, well, obviously,
they had no heads to heed.
I wonder if perhaps the heads just rusted right off. If they went off their heads at some point.
It seemed the feet weren't faring too well either.
But as I was contemplating their fate and thinking of recommending a good podiatrist,
everything went very bright and all the statues disappeared in a blinding flash,
save for one,
and I began to fear what might befall the rest of the city...
(Note: Walking Figures by
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Warsaw, Poland) were part of the Vancouver Bienale in 2009/10. For further information, visit this website)
For some reason I really, really like this! Must have lost my mind! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first spotted the this on my dashboard I thought they were elephant legs,they certainly are proportionally elephantine,perhaps quite intimidating.
ReplyDeleteLove the Humour!!!
Ruby
Tee hee! So clever! I hope using the word crotch doesn't bring you any untoward search traffic. ;0
ReplyDeleteSpeak more. We don't want truncated stories.
ReplyDeleteIs there not concern in the sometimes windy city that large bodies on unsecured feet might tumble?
Truly fun post, L. Of course having pointed out the crotch on these statues, you've turned them from "body" to "bawdy."
ReplyDeleteLynne, you made me burst out laughing in a public place!!! You really got pazza here, and yes you can say crotch as much as you like because it's your blog. I hope the bloody-footed mister finds a podiatrist fast, and that the city recovers from whatever disaster blew in on that wave of gray.
ReplyDeleteMystic Meanderer,
ReplyDeleteLost your mind? How very zen of you. Congratulations!
Ruby,
ReplyDeleteWith your comparison of the statues to elephant legs and DCW's comment about truncated stories, I begin to see an unintentional, underlying jungle theme trumpeting through this post.
Art,
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I did get an e-mail offer to "enhance my love tool" shortly after posting this. I passed it on to the appropriate department and tried not to get crotchety about it.
:-)
DCW,
ReplyDeleteBolting feet of iron: can be taken either way, as in stampeding or rooted to the spot. Just thought I'd torso that off for you to kick around a bit.
Hilary,
ReplyDeleteTo quote Whitman, "I sing the bawdy electric."
jann,
ReplyDeleteYes, I really went out on a limb this time.
:-)
A bit haunting, yet wonderful a sight. Love picture three most. And yes, many times I wish that I would own feet and not me head. Please have a good Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteWonderful and funny post. Love the pictures but your commentary had me laughing, and on a mid week morning that's got to be good!
ReplyDeleteRobert Geiss,
ReplyDeleteYes,it's good to be grounded and not dwell in one's mind overly much. Happy week's end to you!
Gillian,
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you think I wasn't serious? :-)
Nice to hear your laughter echoing down the blogosphere.
Pooh that headless army is a bit spooky - they lok so intent on their march - any idea what was in the sculptor's head?
ReplyDeletePs that first word did read ooh before my iPad did some unnecessary text correcting !!
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteFor a moment there I thought you had a new term of endearment for me. Maybe I should change my name to poohciao from louciao.
I have no idea what the sculptor had in mind. Maybe s/he just couldn't do heads.
Last, but perhaps not least... omg, I totally missed this last week, but then that may be because I was working like a fiend hound from hell in the straight and not so straight jacket factory, and hardly came up for air until this weekend, between naps, which yes, were most refreshing !
ReplyDeleteAh, the headless hounds heading around aimlessly, with crotch high humans no doubt scuttling out of their bling and lumbering paths... well, I guess it's ok to say "crotch", though maybe crocheting them some underwear might be a nobler theme to pursue ? So these things are art, I suppose, and there must be a story about the why of their creation ? Well, am off to the sack again for a real night's sleep, perchance to dream of headless horsemen, or Saint Denis carrying his head out of Paris, or who knows what other headstrong notion from the dream-muse...
PS Please continue to lay blog eggs r-egg-ularly, we would all go cackling off to bedlam were you, you of all the burstingly creating egg layers out there, to slow or stop your production... but then again, sometimes taking a break, like cracking an egg, fracturing time, can do a world of good too...
Br'o has spoken...
BrO,
ReplyDeleteSometimes last, occasionally never, but not ever least.
You know, I was still thinking about these headless figures today at odd moments... was wondering if maybe the message is that this is mindless art ???
ReplyDeleteHas the human race become a race of mindless, brainless brutes ? Sometimes I wonder when reading the newspaper ? Sleepwalkers stumbling around shopping centers, creatures of habit rather than creation ? No, no one could be that cynical... or could they ? Well there is surely some other explanation... and I'd like to hear it... Meanwhile, am pulling my own head down between the shoulder blades, and stumbling off into the night...
Owen,
ReplyDeleteThis is what I found out:
Walking Figures by
Magdalena Abakanowicz (Warsaw, Poland) were part of the Vancouver Bienale in 2009/10 and later moved to the place I saw them.
"Walking Figures is part of a group of 106 figures cast during 2004-2006 in a huge industrial foundry in Srem Poland. Models for each figure
were made by hand, by the artist and her three assistants. The surfaces of the figures are like tree bark or wrinkled faces expressing a different individuality for each sculpture.
Each figure is about 227 cm (7.5 ft) tall and weighs 650 kg (1,433 lb).
They appear to be walking aimlessly without the guidance of reason or sight. The figures appear menacing as they are robotic, ancient,
and without heads. The sombre tone and sheer weight of the figures make reference to both time and loss.
Abakanowicz’s work deals with her struggles around the notion of “the countless.” She examines issues related to things that exist in vast, almost countless numbers, such as leaves, crowds of people, or birds, but which each retain an individual identity within the matrix of such large populations."
-excerpted from
http://vblearn.ca/uploads/general/lfroma_abakan_walking.pdf
I think, Owen, that your impression of the headless/mindless masses walking blind to the beauty of the world and the mess that is being created within it is not far off the mark.
Sorry I'm late, fell asleep on the bus and no-one woke me to get off at your stop!
ReplyDeleteLoved these posts, have been back to the last 3 too but while I'm here will comment here.
You can say crotch on your blog, hell I reckon you could post a photo of 'em too if you wanted. Not sure what would happen, but I double dog dare you to!!
Very interesting... all that...
ReplyDeleteNow watch out for Saj, she's sounding a bit crocthety herself...
Saj,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you here! If our BrO was a little more dependable I would have sent him out to fetch you at the bus stop. As for crotch remarks, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole!
;-)
BrOwen,
ReplyDeleteI will make use of the 10-foot pole clause (see above remark).
everyone making so many compliments about the comments bla bla… But who's the artist who made these sculptures ?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteWell, if you would take the time to READ the compliments and comments instead of complaining about them, you would see in my reply to Owen that I give a good deal of detail about WHO'S THE ARTIST that made these sculptures (ie. MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ (Warsaw, Poland), as well as a great deal of information about the sculptures, and a link to yet more information. I can only do so much. It was not easy to dig up any information on these sculptures that I happened upon. No obvious credit given at the site. My apologies, but really...look before you carp.