[AGL] Monuments to bad taste

[Michael Eisenstadt]

Karen,

Yes scale is very important.

I once saw a fantastic exhibit at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. It was a travelling
show from Italy. The theme was equestrian sculpture,
big horses without riders and big horses with big
men on them. One of the actual horses from the top
of San Marco in Venice was in the show. (all 4
horses are now in air conditioned museum, the 4
on top of San Marco are modern copies).

my point being that horses are very big by nature and
the equestrian sculptures from ancient Rome seemed
to me even bigger than nature. so it is reasonable to
scale up the horse and rider somewhat to give it
more presence.

also in the show was a fragment of a horse's head
that had survived from back then. it was created
under the reign of one of the later degenerate
emperors. the original sculpture was 4 times
natural size. the effect was totally creepy. like
a Cecil B de Mille movie except not a movie
but real life. talk about dominating the
environment. it was supposed to be intrusive,
it was the projection of self of a maniac who
happened to be the emperor.

that is why the Presidents monument out west
must have its charm. what a wonderfully goofy
American notion to carve 4 presidents heads
out of a whole granite mountain! It wouldnt
work if their heads were mounted inside the
eye of a needle and you needed a magnifying
glass to look at them.

not all emperors are like that. there was an emperor
of the Austro-Hungarian empire in the 19th
century who was a simple man. He is recorded
as having said at dinner "I am the emperor and
I will have dumplings."

mikel

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen Willis" <kwillis at pvco.net>
To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"
<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:40 AM
Subject: Re: [AGL] Monuments to bad taste



> Mike,

> This has been an interesting discussion.  Some people seem to like this

> guy's art, but Connie views the statues as bad taste.  From her

> introduction, it seems to me that Connie views the huge statues of men as

> intrusive and perhaps ostentatious.  You can't choose to ignore them.

They

> are enormous and their placement demands that you observe them.  But what

is

> the point?  Other than to communicate that this person lived and was

> important. Maybe there are better ways to put forth that message.  I

always

> liked the statues around the mall at Littlefield Fountain on the UT

campus.

> Maybe they were closer to life-size.  Not multiples of life-size, which

goes

> beyond a tribute and becomes an idol.  Now these huge heads of presidents.

> Where could you put them that they would not overpower their surroundings?

>

> Karen

>

> ----------------------------------

>

> Connie,

>

> Why do you call these in bad taste?

>

> The presidents' features seem exceptionally well

> rendered so far as one can do that in whatever

> they are made of.

>

> the country's had more than 40 presidents without

> a change of regime which historically speaking is

> quite extraordinary. it is the oldest existing republic

> by far. what's politically incorrect about memorializing

> that fact?

>

> that there would be 40 plus sculptures of all the

> presidents behind a chainlink fence around a Houston lot

> is charming and endearing. Long live American

> vernacular! It's like that tall amateur Statue of Liberty

> now gone made of something white in a yard in east Austin

> on E 19th street. the presidents in Terrastone may not equal

> the presence of finally worked bronze busts of biggies of the

> past. Instead they  make us smile at the resemblance.

> Call it vernacular and then you can get off on the charm of

> goofy American versions of high art.

>

> Gary Winogrand and other of the great street photographers

> could have made a good photograph here.

>

> Mike

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "Connie Clark" <connie_3c at yahoo.com>

> To: "Ghetto List" <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>; "Ghetto List Latest"

> <ghetto2 at two.pairlist.net>

> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 9:32 PM

> Subject: [AGL] Monuments to bad taste

>

>

>

>

>