Public Art Review

Two men (not kids!) have been arrested over the deliberate damage of two fiberglass goat statues in Hendersonville. The goats were part of the downtown art collection called “Kidding Around Downtown,” . The two goats injured were Groovy goat (who had his head knocked right off) and Mountain Goat (who lost an ear). They are yet to locate the ear. This isn’t Mountain Goat’s first time in the news, he was nicked along with “Connie-Mara” in July by two kids  who were later charged. Prior to the goats, the town had a five year run with decorative fiberglass bears. The decorative goats  eventually get auctioned off for charity, which makes this so sad because who wants a goat with no head or ear?

Name and shame them right here. The culprits for the latest attack on the fiberglass goats are Daniel Joseph Markel, 27, of Flat Rock, and Craig Owen Hensley, 29, of Hendersonville.They have both been charged with damage to personal property. One for the Billy goats gruff!

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The widow of Brian Clough is set to unveil the bronze statue of the former Nottingham Forest and Derby County boss on the 6th of November at Old Market Square, Nottingham. £60,000 was raised for Sculptor, Les Johnson, to immortalize Clough. The 8ft (2.4m) bronze which depicts the football manager with his hands clenched above his head is expected to draw fans from far a field. Clough will best be remembered for his team’s win at the League Championship at Derby County and at Forest, and then for winning two European Cups with the Nottingham club. Clough died in 2004 from stomach cancer.

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Note that carpet!

If it weren’t for the matching carpet no one would have known that the famous photo of Wild Bill Hickok wearing buckskins was taken in Medota, Illinois. Yep, local historian Steve Dancey was able to verify that the famous photo of Wild bill was actually taken in Mendota after he spotted the distinctive carpet in other photographs taken by local photographer Wilbur Blakeslee (smart cookie). So now, 140 years later, the town is honoring James Butler with a life size bronze. Oh and you guessed it, the statue will be based on that famous photo. Good job.

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Famous Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has had his landmark 10,000 Test runs honored in the most innovative way, a 10,000 brick wall. The wall, which was built by the Bangalore-based realtor group,  features a flat metal cutout of Dravid doing his famous cover drive. Sachin Tendulkar unveiled the Dravid Wall at the Chinnaswamy stadium and remarked `It is a great credit to his family. More than a great cricketer and a great batsman, Rahul is a perfect gentleman on and off the field. The Wall will inspire every budding cricketer to emulate Rahul and his batting skills,`Adding that special touch to Dravid’s Memorial Wall is a small electronic scoreboard which displays his current score with the bat. It is currently at 10,246 but that is about to change as India and Australia do battle in the coming months Cricket Test.

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Well, one Cannonball that is! Yes, a teenager messing around the Confederate Soldier statue in Bentonville Square, Arkansas, accidentally knocked off one of the cannonballs. But the guilt ridden kid rang police and waited for them to arrived to confess his sins (bless). This statue seems to becoming a bit of a worry for the city’s Parks Department, it seems the statue is notorious for losing it’s balls.The cannonballs have been knocked off before and in February 2007 one was stolen. Ewh and lets not forget last week the statue got foamed (i.e.soap suds in the fountain trick!).

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The 40 meter high statue of Chinggis Khaan (aka Genghis) on horseback was unveiled in Tsonjin Boldog in Erdene soum of Tuv province, Mongolia, late November. Just what Mongolia  needs, another memorial to the almighty paranoid pillager, who died from falling off a horse (a little ironic don’t you think?). The statue is the largest Genghis in the world and features a viewing platform. The statue is part of a complex of buildings and is surrounded by 36 marble columns.  The complex, designed by architect D.Erdenebileg, sits on the site where some says Genghis first discovered the horsewhip in 1177 (who knew?).

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The bronze statue depicting racing car driver Peter Brock standing on top his 1984 Holden VK Commodore with the James Hardie Trophy held high above his head is soon to be unveiled at the National Motor Racing Museum. Brock who died in a freak accident in Perth, Western Australia,in 2006, was one of Bathurst’s biggest drawcards winning nine Bathurst titles. Following his death the Bathurst 1000 trophy was renamed “Peter Brock Trophy” in his honor. Oh and for all of you non rev heads Bathurst 1000 is a  1,000-kilometre (620 mi) touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Victoria, Australia.

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The statue of ANC activist Gert Sibande in central Bethal (South Africa) has had a paint job done on it (but not in a good way).Nope, vandals went and painted him white. Mission accomplished,they got the reaction they were looking for. Mpumalanga premier Thabang Makwetla angrily declared “I wish to condemn in the strongest possible terms the vandalisation and defacing of the newly erected statue. These are acts of remnants of racism [and] white supremacy who must be isolated and defeated,”.Sibande was an African National Congress activist and a leader of the farm labourers who initiated the potato boycott 1958.

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Statue Thieves!

Ever wondered what statue thieves look like? Well here are a few for starters. Yes, from left to right are all from Shirley in Suffolk, they have been charged with two counts of grand larceny and one count of criminal mischief. Yes, these little charmers are responsible for the stealing of brass statues with the intent to sell them for scrap metal. Their faces can be found on “wall of shame” Newsday website. Hip hip hooray, there should be more name and shame sites.

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Hmm, if you are going to damage a statue in a sacred temple make sure no elephant is watching, alright! Ten people alleged to be involved in the the vandalism of the temple of elephant-headed god Ganesha situated in Mahudi hills of Hazaribagh, India, got a nasty surprise when an elephant rampaged their homes. It seems the elephant picked up the scent of these culprits who vandalized the temple and statue on the 16th of August and decided to dish out some justice of its own. Gosh, here is hoping the elephant was right, because all ten people were arrested by the police. Elephants obviously carry a  lot of weight in India. Can’t wait for the trial, I wonder if the elephant will take the stand?

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