Summary

The website content discusses the authors' encounters with living statues across various European cities, reflecting on their experiences and questioning whether living statues should be considered a form of street art, particularly within the context of the August 2023 Monthly Challenge dedicated to Street Art.

Abstract

The authors share their personal experiences with living statues in Europe, beginning with their initial surprise at the moving statues in Madrid and subsequent encounters in Cologne, London, Paris, Barcelona, Porto, and Scotland. They document these experiences with photographs and reflections on the performers' interactions with tourists. The article also touches on the prevalence of living statues in popular tourist spots and the possibility of regulation in big cities. Additionally, the piece references two other articles on street art in Latin America and Berlin, suggesting that street art can contribute to a city's cultural healing.

Opinions

The authors were initially fooled by the realism of living statues, indicating a high level of skill and artistry in the performers.
The popularity of living statues in London and their absence in Scotland suggest cultural differences in the appreciation of this performance art.
The presence of living statues near significant landmarks and their potential regulation implies a symbiotic relationship between street performers and city tourism.
The authors seem to appreciate the inclusion of living statues in the broader category of street art, as evidenced by their engagement with the topic and the connection to the Monthly Challenge theme.
The reference to the "most beautiful McDonald's in the world" in Porto indicates a blend of modern commercialism with traditional street performance, which could be seen as either an interesting juxtaposition or a commentary on the commercialization of public spaces.

Monthly Challenge | Street Art

Do Living Statues Qualify as Street Art?

On our European travels we encountered some statues that breathe and sometimes move.

Cowboy on Las Ramblas, Barcelona, 2015. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Our distinguished Globetrotters editors have designated the topic of the August 2023 Monthly Challenge to be Street Art.

We were on our first trip to Spain in 2010 and walking toward the Plaza Major in central Madrid when we came across a copy of August Rodin’s famous sculpture “The Kiss.” We stopped and gazed for a minute or so admiring the work of art. And then they moved!

Living statues in Madrid, 2010. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

It was our first encounter with a living statue in Spain and we were fooled!

Two years later we were back in Europe cruising down the Rhine River. On our sixth day on the river, we arrived in Cologne and spent about an hour touring the magnificent cathedral. Then we spent another hour walking around the huge plaza in front of the cathedral and encountered our first German living statues.

Living statues on the cathedral plaza, Cologne, 2012. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Living statue guarding the entrance to the cathedral’s tower, car park and restroom. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

We visited London the following year and found ourselves at the Covent Garden Market one day. We passed more living statues that day than on any other day in Europe. There must be something about British culture that makes these performers so popular. Or maybe London just handles the entertainment for popular tourist locations better than other cities.

How does he do that? Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Another living statue seems to be levitating. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Everyone has to look at a living statue. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

A few days after we walked through Covent Garden, we came across this silver cowboy in Trafalgar Square.

Silver cowboy in Trafalgar Square, London, 2013. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

We went to Paris the next year and saw a zillion statues. But most of them were in museums and none of them were breathing.

In the fall of 2015, we found ourselves in Spain again. One day we walked down Las Ramblas, the most popular pedestrian thoroughfare in Barcelona. And we encountered a host of street performers, most of them living statues.

Now traditionally these living statues are frozen in time, never moving an inch. But in Barcelona we caught some of these performers engaging with some of the tourists.

Living statue engages with tourist. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Our cowboy (see top photo) roped this tourist.

Galileo busy with his telescope. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Galileo never moved, though. Maybe a new planet swam into his ken.

Living statue and friend. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

This tourist was captured by a dragon. She didn’t seem to mind.

There were no living statues in sight during our two-week visit to Scotland in 2016. Lots of musicians standing on corners dressed in kilts and playing bagpipes, though!

We stopped by the McDonalds on Aliados Avenue in Porto in 2017 and encountered this mummy right outside the restaurant.

Living statue in Porto, 2017. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

That mummy wasn’t parked in front of any McDonald’s. This was the Imperial McDonald’s, formerly the Imperial Café, and also known as the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world!

My guess is that some street performers just gravitate to the most popular tourist spots. In the big tourist cities, though, street performers such as our living statues are probably well regulated, and they are most likely assigned and scheduled to a certain spot at a certain time.

Here are two recent Globetrotters stories on street art that have inspired me:

Joel R. Dennstedt with

Street Art In Latin America

A travel story

medium.com

Martin Scherer with

The Street Art That Is Helping Berlin To Heal

Can street art help a city to heal its scars?

medium.com

Thanks for reading!