February 18, 2004

Metaphor Of The Day

The good people at Snopes say this one is true:

This picture of the statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.
Hat-tip: Andrew Sullivan
Posted by jk at February 18, 2004 11:44 AM
Comments

I DEMAND AN INVESTIGATION! Does this so-called "artist" have ties to Halliburton? He's obviously a slave to big corporate special interests. Any (liberal) idiot can see that!

[Disclaimer: Yes, I know there are conservative idiots too. Don't go accusing me of name-calling just because I said some liberals are idiots.]

Posted by: johngalt at February 18, 2004 01:07 PM

As just one liberal let me just say that his is a beautiful piece of art and I have no doubt that it came from the artist's heart.

Posted by: Silence Dogood at February 20, 2004 10:53 AM

I'm interested in how you would articulate they beauty of this piece. How would you describe it? Feel like engaging in an art appreciation exercisse?

Posted by: johngalt at February 25, 2004 07:59 AM

Well the bold lines in conjuction with the inspired medium combine to form a synthesis of more than the seperate parts... Nope, I can't even fake it. I simply believe that this artist along with most of his countrymen are truly glad to be liberated from Saddam.

Posted by: Silence Dogood at February 25, 2004 04:54 PM

Well played, Silence. I feel completely unqualified to provide art criticism on sculpture. So I was letting this challenge lie...

I do like the metaphoric statement of melting the Saddam heads that he was forced to create to make something that (as Silence nailed it) is from the heart.

I would ask that a musician or writer speak from the heart and have the skill to play or write. This guy obviously has a message and "the chops" to portray.

It's got a good beat and I can dance to it -- I'll give it a 98!

Posted by: jk at February 26, 2004 09:09 AM
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