Mary Wollstonecraft. The first of the bluestockings. Major feminist figure. So, a statue, and why not?
(Nicked from The G).
“Who on earth saw the design for this and thought, ‘Yes, the woman who wrote The Vindication of the Rights of Woman would love this’?” asked Dr Amanda Dillon of the University of East Anglia.
“Have we ever, EVER had a statue of a major male thinker that looked a) nothing like them and b) like a Pornhub Christmas decoration?” said Dr Louise Raw, the historian.
If it was pornhub there would probably be bigger tits.
But, umm, yes, they do have a point, don’t they?
Looks like a sour-faced old trout so probably spot on.
Whereas Victorian commemorative statues looked like more heroic versions of the subject modern ones seem to be intended to make everybody ask WTF? My home town recently paid for a statue to commemorate a local character who spent his retirement years raising money for charity and it looks like something Salvador Dali’s idiot nephew might have produced while hyperactive with a sugar rush.
Women have whatever rights men see fit to give them, plus, tits oot for the lads!
Most churches portray Jesus nearly naked on the Cross.
On Britain’s long coastline, there must be a harbour somewhere glad to give this a permanent home.
The Meissen Bison November 11, 2020 at 9:17 am – “On Britain’s long coastline, there must be a harbour somewhere glad to give this a permanent home.”
And probably some sailors who have been at sea long enough to find it sexually attractive. Much like the author I suspect.
“Have we ever, EVER had a statue of a major male thinker that looked a) nothing like them and b) like a Pornhub Christmas decoration?”
Someone refresh my memory – outside the British library is a statue of Sir Isacc Newton that looks, well, nothing like him. Is he naked or only semi-naked? I am not sure what a Pornhub Christmas decoration looks like but I am sure someone here can tell me.
Looks like a sour-faced old trout . . .
It looks like it’s been 3D printed from a poor quality 3D mesh of about 1998. I did a quick image search but now my eyes and computer need cleaning with drain acid.
Bigger tits, and no bush. I’m old school. Don’t understand the no bush thing.
Interested. look again, yes there is.
“Renowned artist Maggi Hambling’s sculpture, which personifies Wollstonecraft’s spirit rather than depicting her as an individual, will be unveiled tomorrow evening in a live-streamed online event.
Hambling, whose concept was picked by a judging panel in 2018 from a shortlist put forward by campaigners, said: “This sculpture encourages a visual conversation with the obstacles Wollstonecraft overcame, the ideals she strived for, and what she made happen. A vital contemporary discourse for all that is still to be achieved.””
From: https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2020/11/09/mary-wollstonecraft-sculpture-unveiled-decade-long-campaign/
As Art goes nowadays, it’s actually not bad. And it fullfills its role as a point of discussion… 😉
Note: Feminist makes sculpture about feminist that other feminists don’t like….
Besides the fact that there are plenty of statues of male ‘thinkers’ naked – Rodin’s The Thinker, anyone? – there is even one of Wolstonecraft’s son-in-law, Shelley, in Oxford.
The real scandal, is the state of modern sculpture. Forget the abstact tosh, can anyone name a figurative sculpture from the last twenty years that isn’t a flat, lifeless thing that, as PJF mentioned, looks like it was 3D printed?
Dear Alexandra Topping,
If you don’t like the statue, I thought that you guys’ preferred mode of engagement was toppling it, followed by a few rounds of burning, looting and general mayhem.
Is she doing the ping pong ball trick?
Fairy on Christmas tree, but the cat has ripped her dress and wings off…
I can imagine the committee meaning went something like this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oujidOytHA
God folks have short memories. The statue of David Hume, which was THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM EVER back in May, has him dressed in what amounts to a bedsheet.
>they do have a point
I think they actually have two.
@Hallowed Be
‘Interested. look again, yes there is.’
Yes – I was responding to Tim’s suggestion that a Pornhub version would have bigger tits. Also no bush.
Topple time.
More merkin the bush imo.
Maggie Hambling used to attend my local church. She’s eccentric good-natured and an individualist. She opposed the smoking ban in pubs, for example. Generally, she doesn’t buy into wokery.
I think she’s a better portrait painter than a sculptor.
https://artuk.org/discover/artists/hambling-maggi-b-1945
However, her memorial to Benjamin Britten is a masterpiece:
https://www.visitengland.com/experience/discover-maggi-hamblings-scallop
While her tribute to Oscar Wilde is dire:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/a-conversation-with-oscar-wilde
I think this is more evidence of people pushing back. They have decided to quietly take the piss. The recent 100 best black Britains list is a classic example of people voting for a laugh.
David Lammay …….oh come on…..Abbott….you are having a laugh!
The real scandal, is the state of modern sculpture. Forget the abstact tosh, can anyone name a figurative sculpture from the last twenty years that isn’t a flat, lifeless thing that, as PJF mentioned, looks like it was 3D printed?
Today, everyone is a genius but nobody can draw a hand. – Marc Chagall
How can art be good, when everyone is a critic?
Gamecock November 11, 2020 at 10:40 pm – “How can art be good, when everyone is a critic?”
Everyone knows good food from bad. More people have become more interested in good food.
Somehow this has not led to the Modern Food movement (except for some idiots in France who were influenced by Japan in the way the Impressionists were. But there has not been a Kokoschka in the food world much less a Picasso)
The problem is that people are not critical enough. We should adopt a version of Auberon Waugh’s punch an architect campaign
there has not been a Kokoschka in the food world much less a Picasso
Snail porridge, anyone? Fortunately, there are many places offering good, unpretentious food.