The Sculpture Garden of Veijo Rönkkönen

Full article here.

Lots of great photos here.

Veijo Rönkkönen was a recluse who spent his days between the paper mill where he worked for 41 years, and his farm, tucked away in a Finnish forest. By all accounts, he didn’t like to talk to people, and he never took an art lesson in his life. But by the time of his death in 2010, Rönkkönen had covered his land with around 550 sculptures. Nearly all of them depicted human figures: people of all ages and ethnicities, frozen in moments of play, athleticism, and even agony.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 16, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Outsider Art, Statues and Monuments, Europe

Robert Quillen’s Monument to Eve

Robert Quillen was once a well-known humorist, but is nigh-forgotten today. However, still standing is one of his pranks. A whimsical statue dedicated to "the first woman."

Official South Carolina page on Quillen here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 20, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Humor, Newspapers, Regionalism, Religion, Statues and Monuments, Historical Figure

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 52

I must confess to a slight divergence with this entry. All previous ones have featured artwork from within Khrushchev's lifetime, stuff he could have theoretically seen and reacted to. (He died in 1971.) But this one postdates the man.

That is all.

Full info here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 31, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Statues and Monuments, Public Indecency, Europe

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 51

His Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jun 18, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Statues and Monuments, Russia, Twentieth Century

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 50

The artist's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 24, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Statues and Monuments, 1960s, Russia

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 40

Raymond Duchamp-Villon.

His Wikipedia page.

Sculpture page.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 08, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Avant Garde, Statues and Monuments, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century

Statues at the Hexentanzplatz, Germany

The Wikipedia entry on the whole region.

A small article on the sculptures.

Happy Halloween!

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 31, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, Statues and Monuments, Europe

Lyndon Johnson’s go-to gift

President Lyndon Johnson met with Pope Paul VI on Dec 23, 1967. The two spoke for over an hour and then exchanged gifts. The Pope gave Johnson a sixteenth-century painting of the Nativity. Johnson, in return, gave the Pope a small bust of himself, Lyndon Johnson.

Pope Paul VI admiring the LBJ bust he just received

It struck people at the time (and ever since) as odd for Johnson to give a bust of himself as a gift to the Pope. But, in fact, the Pope wasn't the only recipient of this bust. It was Johnson's go-to gift for just about everyone: world leaders, congressmen, white house aides, etc. He traveled with a box of them, so he would always have one at hand.

The busts were replicas of a lifesize bust created by sculptress Jimilu Mason. In case you'd like to give one as a gift, they're available for purchase from the Johnson Presidential Library — only $150 each.

More info: Dead Presidents blog

Jimilu Mason poses with her bust of LBJ

Arizona Republic - Jan 14, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 06, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Statues and Monuments, Gifts, Presents, Tributes, and Other Honoraria, 1960s

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 37

Moore's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 28, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Statues and Monuments, 1950s, United Kingdom

Artwork Khrushchev Probably Would Not Have Liked 36

"Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst with his sculpture, Capricorn, 1947"

Foto source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 13, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Surrealism, Statues and Monuments, Husbands, Wives, 1940s