August 6, 2023

"By merging the traditional Buddhist reclining pose and the quintessential American figurative symbol, Reclining Liberty asks the viewer to contemplate the status of the ideals the Statue of Liberty represents."

Says the press release from MoCA Arlington and Arlington Arts, quoted in "'Reclining Liberty' takes a rest — and raises questions — in Arlington/Zaq Landsberg’s provocative sculpture, unveiled Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, settles in for her year-long stretch" (WaPo).
The piece depicts the statue laying on her side with her head cupped in one hand, one foot flexed, the pose alluding to depictions of the Buddha during his final days before reaching parinirvana. A formal opening celebration was held over the weekend, and she will relax on the museum’s lawn until July 2024.

I guess the copy editor is reclining too, what with "laying on her side."  

"Parinirvana" is the nirvana after death reached by someone who has achieved nirvana during life. That is, the reclining Buddha isn't taking a restorative rest. The reclining Buddha is dying. Since the Buddhist reference was explicitly intended, Liberty must be dying... if we go by the intent of the creator. 

25 comments:

The Godfather said...

The WaPo should change it's slogan to "Democracy naps".

Gahrie said...

Surely this is some form of cultural appropriation?

rhhardin said...

Go Hindu and throw lady liberty on Trump's funeral pyre.

Bunkypotatohead said...

All it needs is a few homeless bums shitting on it.

gilbar said...

i mentioned, that i no longed was proud of america.. Could someone tell me WHAT i Should be proud of? Liberty is dead. Freedom is dead.. America is DEAD

robother said...

Only a matter of time until the first homeless drug addict takes a piss on Liberty. Which is as good a diagnosis as any other for the death of Liberty.

mikee said...

Still better than a Piss Christ. If you're going for transgression of norms, you gotta go further than this. Add a copulaing animal, perhaps, toLiberty's repose, or change out the torch with a bloody politician's head. Maybe even a real head!

Quaestor said...

Fellow traveler Landsberg longs for the death of liberty. New citizens and newly inducted soldiers pledge to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Here's one of the domestic varieties.

Sebastian said...

Linking Liberty with immigration was the first lefty appropriation. Might as well put her to rest. Liberty is gone, the border is open: not much left for her to do.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

It's all about raising questions, because the arts groups want to talk incessantly. The other phrase is "start a conversation."

gilbar said...

i Do still have fond memories of america's past glory. I just DON'T see Any good in it, NOW

Narayanan said...

I guess the copy editor is reclining too, what with "laying on her side."
==========
may be editor thought 'lying' is something only Trump is capable ?

is grammer perfect to say "laying ]herself] on her side."

chickelit said...

Too bad I can’t see the the image without enriching Jeff Bezos (D).

MadTownGuy said...

If Liberty be dying, the radicals are to blame.

Kirk Parker said...

Liberty is dying? The sculpture certainly seems correct about that.

Big Mike said...

I guess the copy editor is reclining too, what with "laying on her side."

@Althouse, the Times and the Post got rid of (real) fact checkers, proofreaders, and copy editors years ago. Seriously. Dispensing with my usual snark. My old high school English teacher, Miss Pierce, would have made the writer (I can’t see the byline due to the paywall) want to crawl into a hole somewhere and stay there.

Aggie said...

"i mentioned, that i no longed was proud of america.. Could someone tell me WHAT i Should be proud of? Liberty is dead. Freedom is dead.. America is DEAD

What are you doing about it?

The Crack Emcee said...

Robert Oppenheimer's quoting the Hindus, and California is named after a pagan Priestess, and now this, but America is NOT a place infected with NewAge.

Everything is perfectly normal,...

JCo said...

Should be “lying on her side.”

Breezy said...

The article promoted the accessibility of the Statue of Liberty, promoting interaction with it and discussion about the American right of Liberty. The negatives around the state of that right are there to be discussed, too, so I think this installation is a good thing, overall. We need to be reminded often about what that word really means.

gilbar said...

Aggie said...
What are you doing about it?

not much.. Well, next time a highschooler mentions joining the army, i'll be VERY ambivalent.

The Worst Part IS.. As sh*tty as america is now; it STILL seems more better than any alternative

PM said...

Lady Lib just chillin'.

policraticus said...

The Buddha is in a calm, relaxed, comfortable state as he disinterestedly contemplates the death of his corporeal form and the final ending of the cycle of incarnation. No more striving, no more struggle, no more action of any kind, nothing to enjoy, nothing to despise, nothing to love, nothing to hate, nothing to care about, or not care about. I guess the best face you can put on this annihilation is that he becomes transformed into pure, perfect being, without any consciousness or ego.

Is that what we see in Lady Liberty? The idea of Liberty is about as un-Buddhist an image as can be imagined. She is a beacon of hope, a standard bearer for a new way of ordering the world. Far from disinterested, she casts light on injustice, and lights the way to a better world where those who want are encouraged to strive, to struggle and to make the world a better place, safe in the knowledge that here liberty is treasured. Bartholdi named the statue, Liberty Enlightening the World. Landsberg might as well call his, Liberty Has Decided Maybe You Aren't Worth It.

policraticus said...

The Buddha is in a calm, relaxed, comfortable state as he disinterestedly contemplates the death of his corporeal form and the final ending of the cycle of incarnation. No more striving, no more struggle, no more action of any kind, nothing to enjoy, nothing to despise, nothing to love, nothing to hate, nothing to care about, or not care about. I guess the best face you can put on this annihilation is that he becomes transformed into pure, perfect being, without any consciousness or ego.

Is that what we see in Lady Liberty? The idea of Liberty is about as un-Buddhist an image as can be imagined. She is a beacon of hope, a standard bearer for a new way of ordering the world. Far from disinterested, she casts light on injustice, and lights the way to a better world where those who want are encouraged to strive, to struggle and to make the world a better place, safe in the knowledge that here liberty is treasured. Bartholdi named the statue, Liberty Enlightening the World. Landsberg might as well call his, Liberty Has Decided Maybe You Aren't Worth It.

Mikey NTH said...

Many words used to describe a lack of originality.