Why are modern statues so bad? 👨🎨🗿😬
Our icons deserve better
Welcome back, it’s NST day.
A disturbing trend has befallen our legends of athletics, culture, and Civil Rights: high-profile sculptures look horrible. Crooked smiles, oversized heads, and rapid-onset aging have ruined our public tributes to luminaries like Cristiano Ronaldo, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dwyane Wade. This week on NO SUCH THING, we find out why.
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To help us understand the plight of the modern sculptor, we talked to artist John Belardo. He walked us through the history of portraiture in sculpture, how photography upended our standards, and why Michelangelo refused to participate. Below you can follow along with a gallery of the statues discussed in the episode.
Related links
Quite empathetic mini-doc on the Ronaldo debacle (Bleacher Report)
This old column “Portrait of the Week” gets into some of the hesitancy around portraiture (The Guardian)
Check out our guest John Belardo’s work (Instagram)
Are we being too harsh? What are some statues you think were pulled off well? Should sculptures look like anime? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Some exciting news, we’ve been nominated for two (2) Signal Awards: Best Buddy Podcast and Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact for our episode about Online Pedophile Hunters. If you’re feeling generous, head over to those links and vote for us :))
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The unfinished DC MLK one is a metaphor for the Civil Rights Movement being a work in progress
I imagine the technology exists to 3D print using concrete or a similar durable material, or to automatically etch/laser a block of stone based on a 3D file. And I'm sure there's a 3D capture of LeBron for a video game or movie. Does it feel disingenuous or cheap to make a statue using a computer vs having it designed from scratch by a person?