If this were in the Soviet Union or even remained in today’s Russia, I would say it was a statue symbolic of the decay of the “working class” revolt. Since it’s in China, I’m not sure what it’s symbolic of! 😉
Ignoring the cracks, the statue looked typical of those of ocial realist style common in the Soviet Union back in their heyday. We saw a lot of them when we visited Budapest several years ago. They also seem relatively prevalent in China as well, so I imagine the style carried over there as well. As for the cracks, it was unclear to me if it was a newer statue and they were cast there purposely as political commentary or if it was an older, poorly cast statue that was acquired somehow. That this sculpture resides in a neighborhood of Beijing populated by art galleries and studios may be an important clue here.
Workingman’s Blues
If this were in the Soviet Union or even remained in today’s Russia, I would say it was a statue symbolic of the decay of the “working class” revolt. Since it’s in China, I’m not sure what it’s symbolic of! 😉
Ignoring the cracks, the statue looked typical of those of ocial realist style common in the Soviet Union back in their heyday. We saw a lot of them when we visited Budapest several years ago. They also seem relatively prevalent in China as well, so I imagine the style carried over there as well. As for the cracks, it was unclear to me if it was a newer statue and they were cast there purposely as political commentary or if it was an older, poorly cast statue that was acquired somehow. That this sculpture resides in a neighborhood of Beijing populated by art galleries and studios may be an important clue here.