Roadside statue is a distraction

 

November 19, 2020



To The Eagle:

Now that the oversized campaign signs have been removed from the roadsides, the only remaining eyesore along the beautiful drive on SR-4 is that absurd statue with all its bits on display. I say absurd because at one point it was wearing a dress. There followed the feathered boa, the hats, the bikini outfit, the toweled beach gear and then the inevitable brief appearance of enhanced genitalia. Juvenile crotch humor. I guess a statue couldn’t be found that was actually raising its middle finger at whoever comes around the curve, because in my opinion, that’s what’s going on, folks- the exercise of uncivil liberties. I was surprised to read that it was a replica of Michelangelo’s magnificent ‘David’. While driving past on an errand, I pulled over and had a closer look. Sure enough. A mud colored miniature effigy of the David. Click over to the Academia Gallery of Italy for excellent views of Michelangelo’s astonishing Renaissance masterpiece which that roadside distraction gleefully mocks.

It’s a crude gnome in the same class as American flag patterned clothing, plastic Jesus dashboard ornaments, and John F. Kennedy dishtowels. All defile the spirit and caliber of their originals, reducing sacred symbols and cultural icons to tawdry kitsch. The only embarrassing thing about that travesty is that it’s there at all.

JB Bouchard

Puget Island

 

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