Althouse: Quite the photo op.

July 22, 2012

Quite the photo op.

Removing the statue of Joe Paterno.

A good one.

ADDED: "The 14 Most Unintentionally Terrifying Statues in the World." Just something I ran across while trying to satisfy my curiosity about the exact line in the category of sculpture between what is a statue and what is not a statue. Obviously, the Joe Paterno sculpture is a statue, but what's right on the line, where we could have a debate about whether this sculpture is a statue?

The OED defines statue as "A representation in the round of a living being, sculptured, moulded or cast in marble, metal, plaster or the like materials; esp. a figure of a deity, allegorical personage, or eminent person, usually of life-size proportions."

So it can be an animal. It's usually life-size, but I think that when it gets too small, we stop saying statue (and start saying "figure" or "figurine"), but it can get as large as you can make it and we'll still say "statue" — as with the Statue of Liberty — even though there is an alternate word: "colossus." (Note that the poem displayed at the Statue of Liberty is "The New Colossus.")

I note that if there is more than one figure, we don't say "statue." For example, "Burghers of Calais" isn't called a "statue." Also, it needs to be the entire body, so we don't call that Chicago Picasso a "statue."

45 comments:

MisterBuddwing said...: Lenin, Saddam Hussein... now Joe Paterno.; 7/22/12, 11:17 AM
Brian Brown said...: These continued statements about "the truth" and such from the Paterno family are pathetic.

They need to shut up; 7/22/12, 11:25 AM
Wince said...: That photo of a hooded Paterno looks like the mob lynching of a defiant dictator.; 7/22/12, 11:26 AM
bagoh20 said...: The face on that statue looks like the Joker, so there is more than enough reason to remove it.; 7/22/12, 11:35 AM
madAsHell said...: I believe that is your second link to cracked.com.

My son loves to read cracked.com. He one time insisted that cows always align north-south while grazing. He sited cracked.com as the source of this little gem, and then attempted to verify the fact with google maps.

He's still working through that verification.; 7/22/12, 11:49 AM
William said...: The statue is a memory cast in bronze. It has been displaced but not removed. I would suggest that the bronze be melted down and used to make decorative cuspidors at men's clubs.; 7/22/12, 12:00 PM
edutcher said...: Those other statues are pretty weird, all right, but the one in Nuremburg is not that out of the ordinary for the period when it was made. You can see old newsreel footage of Germany from the 20s and 30s of all manner of naked people ringing bells and such and plenty of fountains with cherubs peeing the guts out.

Almost all destroyed in WWII, of course.; 7/22/12, 12:01 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Every time -- every time -- I try to type "statue," I type "statute" and then have to correct it. Every time. Even when I see it coming and I tell myself don't do it this time. I still do it.; 7/22/12, 12:06 PM
Humperdink said...: Another sad day for PSU. I offhandedly suggested they put JoPa's statue on Ebay with the proceeds going to the victims. Someone would pay large $$$$ to have this in their backyard.

This saga will continue for a long time. Another shoe drops tomorrow with the forthcoming NCAA announcement.

Rick PSU '73; 7/22/12, 12:13 PM
ndspinelli said...: Althouse, Professional hazard, like carpal tunnel for carpenters. I don't believe there's a statutory remedy.; 7/22/12, 12:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: There certainly is a lesson here if you care about legacy. You harm it most when you put it highest. What an epic failure for Paterno.

Just do the right fucking thing already. You know what it is - just do it. Even when it hurts, it's like pulling off a band-aid.; 7/22/12, 12:33 PM
HT said...: note that if there is more than one figure, we don't say "statue." For example, "Burghers of Calais" isn't called a sculpture.

What? In the very link you give:

Les Bourgeois de Calais is one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin; 7/22/12, 12:37 PM
HT said...: I think you meant either IS called a sculpture, or "isn't called a statue."; 7/22/12, 12:38 PM
Wince said...: "Fine, it's a sculpture of limitations."

Kramer: Isn't there like a statue of limitations on that?

Jerry: Statute.

Kramer: What?

Jerry: Statute of limitations. It's not a statue.

Kramer: No, it's statue.

Jerry: Fine, it's a sculpture of limitations.

Kramer: Wait a minute, Just wait a minute...Elaine, Elaine! Now you're smart, is it statue or statute of limitations?

Elaine: Statute.

Kramer: Oh, I really think you're wrong.; 7/22/12, 12:52 PM
Ralph L said...: Other than Pharoah and Caesar, what kind of man lets them put up a statue of him while he's still alive and working there?

Someone should photoshop a bronze cherub impaled on that long finger.

I think it moves down to statuette, then to figurine.; 7/22/12, 12:59 PM
Saint Croix said...: #1 What's wrong with the vagina? Yeah, it looks like a vagina. So? You're terrified of vaginas? The vaginas are keeping you up at night? What? It's a vagina.

#2 Okay, the pink one totally looks like a dildo. The marble one, I dunno. Could be ice cream, maybe.

#3 Giant eyeball. Ehhhh. Looks like a giant eyeball. It's not squishy. You want to terrify me with eyeballs, they have to be squishy.

#4 I think this is pretty awesome. Sure, terrifying. It's supposed to be terrifying! Good work. I applaud. On the other hand, I hope we didn't spend a lot of tax dollars on that.

#5 Demon horse is cool! I'm a big fan of demon horse. I want to fly into Denver now. I want to ride the demon horse.

#6 Mothman, awesome! I can't believe they put up some B picture horror art. Nice.

#7 That's pretty funny.

#8 Lactating milk goddesses! Cool. What's wrong with that? I'm a huge fan of milk, breasts, women and art. I fail to see the horror.

#9 Faceless babies are fucked up!

#10 I just want to kick him in the balls.

#11 It's not that strange to see naked fountains peeing water. Usually it's little boys, like this guy. So this is two men peeing water. Okay. I'm bored.

#12 Shit on a stick.

#13 Infanticide art.

#14 Ditto. I think the Supreme Court should get a sculpture just like this in front of their courthouse. I want to see a sculpture of all nine of them. And they're up to their ass in marble babies. And they're screaming and smacking them with law books. Justice Ginsburg is crushing one under her heel. Breyer has a skewered baby head on a stick. Scalia is standing there with a blindfold on. Kennedy is crying in the corner, while a baby is yanking on his robes.; 7/22/12, 1:16 PM
ndspinelli said...: EDH, Very clever. You could be an alternative Rain Man.; 7/22/12, 1:25 PM
kimsch said...: Every time -- every time -- I try to type "statue," I type "statute" and then have to correct it. Every time. Even when I see it coming and I tell myself don't do it this time. I still do it.

I knew a SQL programmer once who couldn't type "were", she'd always type "WHERE" and had to run a find and replace on her documents.; 7/22/12, 1:34 PM
traditionalguy said...: But Joe Paterno's statue was not riding on a horse. A statue on foot is just not that heroic. You have to have a horse outside a Beaver Stadium.

Of course the SMU Mustangs were horses and they still got the Death Penalty. But theirs was for daring to beat the U. of Texas Longhorns.; 7/22/12, 1:39 PM
John henry said...: Ralph said:

"Other than Pharoah and Caesar, what kind of man lets them put up a statue of him while he's still alive and working there?"

Orlando Cepeda was convicted of trying to pick up 160 pounds of marijuana. Served 10 months of a 5 year sentence.

He has a large municipal stadium named after him in Puerto Rico

A statue in Giants Stadium in SF

Was inducted into the BB Hall of Fame. (And 13 other Halls of Fame)

All of this AFTER he had been convicted.

Sheesh!

He seems to have a clean Wikipedia page. No mention of the conviction or prison that I can find.

He sure is a good role model for our youth. Be a baseball star and you can get away with drug smuggling.

Ditto Paterno. Be a good football coach and you can get away with hiding child rape.

Fuck 'em all and this whole silly mystique we have built up around professional (including college and olympic) sports.

John Henry; 7/22/12, 1:50 PM
ndspinelli said...: traditionalguy, CBS is reporting the NCAA is going to slam Penn State.; 7/22/12, 2:31 PM
ndspinelli said...: John, The import of marijuana doesn't mean shit to most people and pales in comparison to the rape of children. WTF!!!; 7/22/12, 2:32 PM
MadisonMan said...: Other than Pharoah and Caesar, what kind of man lets them put up a statue of him while he's still alive and working there?

Pat Richter and Barry Alvarez? Both have bronzes outside of Camp Randall. Never put up a statue of a living person. And if you're going to live life as a paragon, for God's sake act like one because it is very much human nature to delight it tearing down paragons.

And now the NCAA (paragon of *cough* virtue) is getting into the act because of course a bureaucracy certainly has to do something lest it be accused (rightly) of serving no purpose.; 7/22/12, 2:41 PM
Cedarford said...: Time may treat Paterno better than the strident Advocates of Victimhood wish him treated.

The man will be judged for the totality of his life's work, his successes and mistakes. His positive influence on others as well as the great errors he made as a powerful but old man in his late 70s early 80s in physical and mental decline.

Probably good they are putting the statue in storage. The self righteous lather of the Victimhood Advocates will dissapate or move on to a new target for demonization and outrage soon enough.
Then in calmer and more reasoned times, Paternos contributions and positive impact on many lives will be weighed against his great mistake - not to act against a pedophile in his inner circle.; 7/22/12, 3:09 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I think you meant either IS called a sculpture, or "isn't called a statue.""

Yes, exactly. Thanks for noting that. I've fixed it now.

Sorry.; 7/22/12, 3:13 PM
wyo sis said...: I have a capital letter in the middle of my name. I know. It was the 50's. Shut up. Aaaanyway. Whenever I type the first three letters of my name, and they're pretty common, I have to almost physically restrain myself from hitting the shift key.; 7/22/12, 3:28 PM
Sydney said...: I have the same problem with "its" and "it's"; 7/22/12, 3:43 PM
ricpic said...: A lot of these "terrifying" statues memorialize one of the great human joys, okay, one of the great guy joys: taking a leak outdoors.; 7/22/12, 4:44 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: Thanks, Ann, made my day. Those European sculptures were hilarious. Statues as a term I reserve for single figures of prominent people. Who else would have been able to afford it, or would have warranted the expense?

Habits are strange -- ever notice even when you know the power is out you still automatically reach for the light switch when you enter a room? That just happened to me last week.; 7/22/12, 4:52 PM
Titus said...: I like the statues of the tits squirting water.

They are gently being held by the owners of those huge tits, and saying with pride, "look at my huge tits spraying, want me to spray on you you pervert".

tits spraying.

tits.; 7/22/12, 7:21 PM
Titus said...: I think it would be cool if there were real women like those tit spraying statutes.

They would be huge and would just come out during really hot days to spray us down to cool us off. They would walk really slow, look down at us, and have a half smile on their face as they gently sway side to side to, holding their tits, and spraying us.

They would be 100 feet tall.

They would not speak.

tits.; 7/22/12, 7:30 PM
slumber_j said...: A statue of a dog occupies an important spot in NY's Central Park:

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/centralpark/highlights/10771

And of course, equestrian statues necessarily involve horses, and usually humans as well. So there's one widespread exception to the more-than-one-figure rule.; 7/22/12, 8:25 PM
Methadras said...: I hope that the NCAA shuts down Penn State football for good.; 7/22/12, 9:22 PM
Ralph L said...: They would not speak
Then they would not be women.; 7/22/12, 9:43 PM
Fen said...: The self righteous lather of the Victimhood Advocates will dissapate or move on to a new target for demonization and outrage soon enough

Bullshit. They swept sexual abuse allegations under the rug to protect Penn State's rep.

I'm with Methadras: Death Penalty. Turn Penn State into an Object Lesson so that every college admin will think twice about the levarging the PR risk.; 7/23/12, 12:06 AM
Fen said...: Traditional: Of course the SMU Mustangs were horses and they still got the Death Penalty. But theirs was for daring to beat the U. of Texas Longhorns.

I take back every bad thing I ever said about you! :); 7/23/12, 12:08 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: The Paterno statue is really cool with the statues of the players seeming to be running behind him, the entire sculpture of him in his suit with his finger sticking up and the athletes suited up and charging. The art is the least of it but too bad about the whole thing.

That finger is prime target. The finger sticking up is just asking for it.

Deena was dismayed at the large number of Egyptian statues with broken noses. "Why?" She asked, "why?" In the tone that conveys, "oh the humanity."

Because they're gone and have no power to harm, to affect, or even to protect their own nose. It's like Glenda the good witch who chides her sister and rebuffs her threats, "ew-hew-hew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew" WHAP "Rrrrrubish." WHAP "Begone." WHAP "You have no powah he-ah" WHAP

For a pretty little good witch, she's awfully violent.

Plus it's a bit on the statue that is most likely broken somewhere along the line over 4,000 years, when everything else is tucked in, arms, legs, fingers, toes, ears. But it was a thing to purposefully break off the nose after the pharaoh was gone.

Like the guy who walked in line up the steps that wrapped around the back of the Pieta so that visitors can have an intimate look all around, and pulled out a hammer and broke of Mary's nose.

He didn't hate art, he was attacking the Church.

And the sphinx. A Muslim guy broke off the nose. Wikipedia said so. People were worshipping the sphinx and it pissed him off so bad he broke it.

I have become so angry that I broke things myself but never anything so large as a sphinx's nose.; 7/23/12, 2:21 AM
Jim S. said...: The statue of a giant beetle impaled on a giant sewing needle on Ladeuzeplein in Leuven, Belgium has always struck me as being a little odd:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chal/76282306/; 7/23/12, 4:23 AM
Humperdink said...: "I hope that the NCAA shuts down Penn State football for good."

Logic must be a foreign concept to you. I would remind you the perpetrators of theses acts are either in jail, going to jail or dead.

Unless of course you are privy to information no one else has seen. If so, please share it.; 7/23/12, 5:56 AM
Fen said...: Logic must be a foreign concept to you. I would remind you the perpetrators of theses acts are either in jail, going to jail or dead.

Accessory after the fact.

Paterno and staff knew about the molestations and stared down at their shoelaces.; 7/23/12, 11:01 AM
Rusty said...: Cedarford said...
Time may treat Paterno better than the strident Advocates of Victimhood wish him treated.

No. Like Monica Lewinski and W.J. Clinton, Sandusky will always be standing right behind him in histories memory.; 7/23/12, 11:39 AM
jr565 said...: My thinking on this is that Paterno MAY be getting a raw deal on this. Yes, he still should have done more, but I think a lot of people are assuming facts in evidence that may not have been in evidence to those involved. In other words, they are arguing hindsight, and arguing that information that has made it's way into the public knowledge was public knowledge at the time.
This is not to say that Sandusky is n't guilty and that some in Penn State didn't drop the ball hard.
BUT,how we view Joe depends on what he knew and when. If he didn't know the extent of the crimes, and most didn't then I don't fault him as strongly for doing what he did.

First of all, what was he told by McQueary. McQueary himself said he spared much of the details when talking to Paterno, due to his age and deference to him so Paterno didn't know the particulars of the case (ie that there was sodomy) only that something happened. Mcquery then said told Shutz and Curley the actual details including the anal rape (though they too deny that he said that).
THe grand jury report brings up various times that Sandusky was involved with boys, where people might KNOW, but in most of these cases they were not common knowledge to most of the higher ups at Penn (apparently). For example,
there was an incident that involved the wrestling coach catching Sandusky in the act of "wrestling with a kid". Only, that never happened at Penn state, so I doubt Paterno would know about it.
Then there was the janitor that saw something and reported it to his superior,who in turn never reported it to anyone else. So how would they know?; 7/23/12, 3:39 PM
jr565 said...: The original grand jury in 1998 - 2002 was brought up, not over an alleged rape, but an innapropriate instance where he (sandusky) was in the shower and soaped a boys back. Certainly innaproriate, but is that something that charges would be brought over. The prosecutor at the time didn't do so. And at any rate, according to Paterno, that trial was not common knowlede to most people in the building, and according to him he never even heard about it at the time. SInce charges were dropped,even if he did hear about it at the time, wouldn't he assume that there was nothing to it.
So, if he didn't know about the grand jury proceeding, nor what was said in it, the first instance where he may have heard Sandusky was involved in improper acts was when Mcqueary told him about this current instance (though as already stated, mcqueary himself soft pedaled the info when telling Paterno)> and he, Paterno, then went to his higher ups as he was supposed to do. Note JOe Paterno was not charged with perjury, whereas the people who Mcqueary said he told about the anal rape, were.
And, there is a policy in place, where if there are allegations of sexual conduct, you are supposed to report it to the school authorities (Shutz in this case) and then THEY are supposed to notify Chld Protective Services. Isn't that then where the ball was dropped. With those Mcqueary and Paterno reported to?
You can argue that Paterno should have done more. Maybe HE should have reported it to child protective services and gone around school policy. Only, the assumption on his part might have been, "I don't know what to do about this,and I don't want to step in and prejudice anythign concerning Sandusky either pro or con, and report it to the people who do know what to do with this, (assuming of course that they would then notify the cops if warranted). .; 7/23/12, 3:50 PM
jr565 said...: Also, I was having a discussion with a coworker about this at work, and he mentioned how Sandusky brought boys down to his basement and fondled them and how the wife must have known. I argued that the wife SHOULD have known, but must she have known? NOt if he was good at hiding it. Usually when there is a high profile shooting they ask the parents and they always say "I had no idea!" "You didnt realize that your kids were amassing an arsenal in their room?" In fact though, it's possible that they don't know. There are plenty of things I had in my room that my parents never knew about, and for example, my parents were so computer illiterate that if I was looking on websites for how to make bombs, they would have no clue.

And, most importantly, the 4 kids who were molested never came forward about it until the latest charges were brought against Sandusky, so there's no way that this was common knowledge to anyone, let alone Paterno.; 7/23/12, 5:21 PM
jr565 said...: And here's a link to what mcqueary told Paterno, versus what he told the higher ups.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-16/sports/30523834_1_joe-paterno-shower-heads-young-boy

Note, he out and out states that he did not tell Paterno of the specifics of the case.

"The rough positioning I would have described, but not in very much detail," McQueary testified.

Asked if he ever used the word "sodomy," McQueary said, "No. Out of respect."

Paterno told him, "I'm sorry you had to see that."
And
The meeting with Paterno the next morning lasted a whole 10 minutes. Again he says he never used the words "anal sodomy." Says he's never used the words "anal" or "rape" since day one. The grand jury presentment uses the word "anal sex" though, that's a HUGE issue.

He says he use the words "fondling" and didn't tell Paterno the details of what he saw because, "You don't go to Coach Paterno with great details of sexual acts."

So when Joe Paterno said he was told something happened, but wasn't sure what it was thats true. Because mike mcqueary didn't tell him.

Also, when asked about why he didn't go to the police, he answered, he thought that he WAS talking to the police when he dealt with Shutz.

"To be frank, I thought I was talking to the head of the police." One of the administrators he met with, Gary Schultz, was technically the administrative overseer of the campus police.

He also mentions that he did try to follow up and find out what happened, and was told that sandiskys charity was orifices and that he was kicked off campus. And that he never saw Sandusky with any kids after that incident. Though, that is not exactly complementary for mcqueary, since Sandusky wasn't actually brought up on charges and he never actually confronted him about it in the nine years since the incident.

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-16/sports/30523834_1_joe-paterno-shower-heads-young-boy#ixzz21WDldEtq

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-16/sports/30523834_1_joe-paterno-shower-heads-young-boy#ixzz21WD6U5H5

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-16/sports/30523834_1_joe-paterno-shower-heads-young-boy#ixzz21WCS9rKO; 7/24/12, 1:32 AM