The 20th century opened a new page in the history of sculpture. The good old classics suddenly became uninteresting. Girls with a paddle and boys playing with dolphins, reflecting the general infantilism of the middle of the last century, rested in a Bose, giving way to an incomprehensible but attractive conceptual avant-garde. How long?
What are the most unusual monuments in the world appeared in the last hundred years? This is our article.
The semantic load of modern sculptures
It’s very interesting and creepy to consider and solve the composition of Mikhail Shemyakin “Children - victims of adult vices”. You involuntarily wonder, and what vice do I bear? The indicated question is already half the battle.
Many modern unusual monuments of the world, the photographs of which are presented in this article, seem very thin and deep, but not all of them are filled with such tragic content as the sculptural complex of an outstanding Russian-American artist. Among them, there are simply very funny ones that make you smile. For example, "Do not drink the branch on which you sit." Such compositions are in Yakutsk and Amsterdam.
"Chizhik-Pyzhik"
Unusual monuments of the world attract crowds of tourists. The sculptors who created them were not always suggesting great success to their “brainchildren”, as happened with the tiny bronze chizhik-fawn on the Fontanka, invented by the Georgian architect Rezo Gabriadze. He appeared in St. Petersburg in 1994 and very quickly became a symbol of the city. Even the tradition was born of throwing a coin on a small pedestal. If it hits the target, then the desired desire will certainly come true.
Monument to Cervantes and the heroes of his novel in Madrid
Miguel de Cervantes, representative of the golden age of Spanish culture, sometimes devotes catalogs listing unusual monuments and sculptures of the world. And, although very little is known about the writer himself, unusual monuments to Don Quixote were created in memory of him and his novel. All over the world, one cannot find a literary work whose heroes would be immortalized in bronze and stone in a variety of ways and in such a large number. The characters of the novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha have been inspiring architects for over a hundred years. First of all, these are, of course, the Spaniards. In one of the central squares of Madrid, Plaza de España, in 1929, after four years of labor, a whole sculptural complex was opened. In the center of it stands a huge marble stella. It gives the impression of the back of a throne on which Cervantes himself sits. In front of him and much lower, almost at ground level, are two bronze riders. They are both very serious and focused. The fearless knight raised his right hand in a welcome gesture. In his figure - noble dignity and aristocracy. He is old, but strong in spirit.
Half a horse’s hull, a little behind, on a donkey, a faithful squire Sancho Panza. The good-natured peasant holds the master's hat in his hand. He does not understand the passionate aspirations of the owner. The sculptor Lorenzo Cullo Valera very subtly and accurately depicted two opposing personalities, and the architect Rafael Martinez Zapatera incredibly delicately entered an absurd couple into the stone jungle of the modern city. Maybe this sounds corny, but Don Quixote and Sancho Panza seemed to have left the pages of the novel. It is so strange, inappropriate, sorry, but at the same time with some aplomb they looked three hundred years ago. If you appeared among us today, they would have made the same impression. We would call them socially non-adapted and would treat them more carefully and courteously than with ordinary people.
Monuments to the Spanish Grand in Omsk
The most unusual monuments and sculptures of the world depicting Don Quixote and his skinny horse are in Omsk. The works of the local craftsman A. N. Kapralov were included in the guides to the sights of the Siberian city. His Don Quixote is a shadow, a ghost, or a werewolf of a medieval knight emerging from the looking glass of a crooked mirror. But the werewolf is funny and not at all scary, although it looks very solemn. A horse is a fierce and wild mustang, just very old and dilapidated. In a word, his characters are made with a charming and subtle sense of humor.
Czech Republic - Klondike of amazing sculptures
The most unusual monuments in the world are in the Czech Republic. Many travelers agree on this. If you make the Top 10 unusual monuments of the world, the Czech Republic will take more than one place in it. What are only the "Manneken Pis" or the "Bench of vice." A tourist unfamiliar with the architectural features of Prague, having seen a man caught on a metal pin at high altitude, will rush to call the police, but this is a sculpture depicting Sigmund Freud by David Black.
Permyak - salty ears
In the past few decades, a lot of funny and original monuments have appeared in our country.
In Perm there are free-standing salty ears. The fact is that the long-standing proverb about the salty ears of Permians required perpetuation. Why Permians have salty ears? Because there, in the Kama region, there are large deposits of rock salt. Previously, it was carried out of quarries on its backs, poured into a canvas bag. Some salt was always shaken and settled on the ears of men. Thus, Perm - salty ears - is the true truth.
"Semenych"
In Siberia, there are other unusual monuments of the world. Omsk mentioned above boasts a sculpture of a plumber. She was called "Semenych." The heavy, round sewer manhole, which is full in every city, is pushed back, and a figure of a bronze hard worker in a traditional protective helmet and with an adjustable wrench sticks out from his waist .
So here it is - “Happiness”
It seems that the most unusual monuments of the world are collected in our country. What does happiness look like? In Tomsk, they believe that it looks like a wolf from the animated film "Once Upon a Time". A wolf who has gone around at a friend’s wedding will even tell you a few inspiring and warm words if you press his navel.
The computer keyboard can also give an impetus to creativity
In 2005, a giant keyboard from an outdated computer appeared in Yekaterinburg. Locals use stone keys as park benches. Perhaps Anatoly Vyatkin, who created this corner for gatherings of friends, in this way contributed to the recycling of plastic.
"Passengers"
There is another interesting monument in Yekaterinburg by sculptors Yuri Krylov and Alexander Kokoteev - “Passengers”, or, as it is also called, “Monument to Passengers”. Near the building of the old station, where the museum is now housed, a mini-scene was made of bronze - apparently, they had just announced boarding the train, and mother, grabbing her son's hand, rushed to the platform, and father looked at the pretty passenger. Everything is like in real life.
"Wallet"
In Krasnodar, just opposite the business center, there is a huge granite wallet on the ground, measuring 1 x 2 meters. It is an exact copy of the Melbourne wallet. It is believed that if you rub your own wallet about it or sit a bit on granite, you can quickly get rich.
What is the best and most correct way to study unusual monuments of the world? Information about the material from which this or that sculpture is made, the history and reasons that prompted the artist to get to work, his thoughts on composition, semantic load, etc., are not always available for guests who are first studying local attractions. And if this is a country with an unfamiliar language, then it is very disappointing to lose sight of the masterpiece of some outstanding artist, without examining it from all sides as carefully as possible.
"Verity" - modern Themis
However, the most unusual monuments of the world are still mentioned in tourist guides. So, if you decide to visit the UK, and include Devon County in your route, you can see a very strange statue of Themis, that is, the goddess of justice. Devonian Themis is a giant naked pregnant woman. One half of her body is devoid of skin. Above Verity's head, such a name was given to the statue by its author, Damien Hirst, holding a sword, and hiding very small scales behind his back. The pedestal on which it stands is a book of jurisprudence. This amazing sculpture instills an unpleasant sense of anxiety and hopelessness.
"Rush"
In the USA (state of Philadelphia) there is a sculpture, without which the story about unusual monuments of the world would be incomplete. The author, the sculptor Zenos Prudakis, gave it the name “Rush”, but very often you can hear a reservation when instead of the word “rush” they say “breakthrough”. It seems to be more in line with the plot. And indeed, from the whole composition there is a feeling of energy breaking out into the will, a breakthrough.
The whole complex is filled with many secrets and meanings. It can be considered for a very long time. The artist encrypted in the relief the faces of his parents, the face of his beloved cat, the date of his birth and much more. Look carefully, with whom do you identify yourself? With the first person who is unable to move? It’s even difficult for him to breathe, but the hope of gaining freedom is still warming. Or maybe you are the second? The one who has already stretched his shoulders, and felt the first joy of movement? He could only tear off his hands. He has already made a titanic effort for this. Or are you the third? Which felt, felt, freedom and was afraid to move alone, and therefore he pulls his hand to the most daring. And he, this fourth, is in euphoria. He can do anything. Joy and happiness beat over the edge. But what is behind him? Some kind of faces. People are walled up in the wall. Do they also have freedom ahead? Have they already begun the path to light and space, or, on the contrary, are they drawn into the cramped walls? The monument is incredibly strong in energy and psychological impact. It was installed in 2000. An accident?
Music in metal
In the collection entitled: “The most unusual monuments of the world”, you can safely include a monument to the famous Finnish composer Jan Sibelius. It is an organ on which the wind plays. Ayla Hiltunen created a weightless composition of six hundred pipes. If you stand under them, you can hear the music. It is bewitching. The giant metal structure blends very organically into the surrounding landscape, which consists of pine trees growing on a rocky platform.
Standing on your head makes life easier
And here is another monument, which is also inscribed in the surrounding landscape, but looks somewhat defiant and can cause slight dizziness. It is located in Melbourne. Charles la Trobe, who is sculpted and installed in such an unusual perspective, was once the first vice-governor of Victoria, the Australian colony of Great Britain. Perhaps the architect, Charles Robb, somehow showed that, while in the Southern Hemisphere, Trob always remained thoughts and feelings in the Northern - in his homeland, in England, where he could not return, and where people go up kicking? After all, he directed all his energy to the service of the English crown. Largely thanks to his wise governance, Australia has become a beautiful and prosperous country. He opened the University, which was subsequently given the name of an outstanding statesman, a library, museums, a luxurious botanical garden, an art gallery and so on. and so on.
“Kissing students”
The monument of love, passion and tenderness stands on the Town Hall Square in Tartu. This city has long received the status of the capital of students, and an elegant couple confirmed this symbolic nickname. Once there was only a boring fountain. Estonian artist Mati Karmin once saw his nephew hugging with his girlfriend. He captured this moment in the photograph, and then transferred it to bronze. What could be more romantic than a couple kissing in the rain? Architect Tiit Trumal remade the fountain, and now water is pouring from the umbrella, which added even more romance to the lovers. Happy will be those who are lucky to see the sculpture in the halo of the rainbow.