military statuary

[ivanhowe]

Is there an interest in civic and cemetary art depicting the soldier and death. There is a beautiful statue at Cambridge(not Mount Auburn) where Death is comforting the dying soldier. Hudson, Ma. has a soldier with a shield and Death as well.. Assoon as I can get to photograph them, I'll post. Someone here must have an interest in this?

 

[dead30something]

That would be interesting to see.

 

[PiercedChest]

Sure, that would be a nice thread to start! Please do!

 

[ivanhowe]

Here are two that I have ready, but there are better ones around

 

[PiercedChest]

I'd love to see a collection of (parts of) war memorials showing dead soldiers, or other men, preferably naked.
Like this one: from the Sydney War Memorial, a sculpture titled The Sacrifice

 

[bindiboi]

That would be awesome ivanhowe. The one with death comforting the soldier especially. Great idea for a thread!

 

[KiltedSoldier]

Aye would like to see the memorials we soldiers get. As a young Pvt I saw a bridge in Berlin with statues of the 7 ages of the warrior - the final one being a winged angel of death holding the near naked soldiers corpse, in Scotland there are plenty showing a dead Highlander at rest on top of a plinth with names of the dead on the columns.

 

[ivanhowe]

I did go to the Cambridge Cemetary today and got fotographs of "Death and the Soldier". That is my name for it, there is so much passion in the sculpture, that any other title might be obscene. I shall show it after my next post. You might want to skip it because I detest the creation for resons I shall say.

 

[ivanhowe]

.Is this a memorial to the survivers of those conflicts? Why is there no mention of the dead soldiers? Is the soldier himself American? He looks like Vercingetorix. Something classical my stupid townspeople. Is there a problem with uniforms of all those dates? So, make him naked? Did a bomb blow off his clothes, or did he die in a maison de joie? As far as the dates go, is the American Revolution a thing of the forgetful past, and Johnny Reb in 1861 didn't fight for this country- so let's forget him? The engraver must be an optomist because more dates are coming and he's running out of room.
You may criticize me for my Vietnam boots, bleeding when the desert boots are more current. It's just a matter of personal impact. The loss of any of our boys makes me angry and sad.
Quiz-"Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute"

 

[ivanhowe]

This tribute to soldiers in WW1 is in the City of Cambridge cemetary. There is another right next door, Mount Auburn- most spectacular. Time has hidden the true beauty of this creation. I'm sure Death was more attractive than now, and birds have had their share.I tried to clean it up, but am presenting it as the artist would have wished. I enquired about the artist, but the clerk doesn't know. He suggested the historical society.I told him that I found the work very moving and, much to my surprise, he agreed. I bet he's Irish-we're brought up with it. If you like, I doctored the image more, and put on an authentic pair of boots in my group Heroes and Boots.

 

[Tecpatl]

I'd love to see a collection of (parts of) war memorials showing dead soldiers, or other men, preferably naked.
Like this one: from the Sydney War Memorial, a sculpture titled The Sacrifice

Fucking hot for a statue!

 

[Tecpatl]

Philly War Memorial

Great Thread! There's no better depicitons of dead hot boys in art than when it comes to romanticizing war.

I've always thought the Philadelphia Railroad War Memorial makes catching a train in Philly all the more enjoyable. Although I like the studies in the BFA in Boston even more.

 

[PiercedChest]

Beautiful how the angel holds him.

 

[ivanhowe]

Franklin, Ma. offers this heroic figure to represent the war dead. Why does a handsome young man ,strong like a football player, sociable , and patriotic join a military service where the distinct possibility exists that he might be sacrificed to the god of war, Mars? Don't ask me, I did. btw, I put a more romantic approach to the statue in my group.

 

[Craigie Boy]

I'd love to see a collection of (parts of) war memorials showing dead soldiers, or other men, preferably naked.
Like this one: from the Sydney War Memorial, a sculpture titled The Sacrifice

Beautiful! Why is there a German eagle on the dead Australian soldier's shield? Has it some symbolic significance, do you know? Or is he a dead German soldier? If he is, then the Sydney War Memorial must be the finest and noblest memorial ever built. To honour the enemy fallen as well as your own - that's just awesome.

 

[Craigie Boy]

Cambridge War Memorial. UK

 

[PiercedChest]

Why does a handsome young man ,strong like a football player, sociable , and patriotic join a military service where the distinct possibility exists that he might be sacrificed to the god of war, Mars? Don't ask me, I did.

The majority of soldiers fighting in World War I were volunteers!

I think several factors play an important role, among them being:
Young men are hugely overoptimistic and can't imagine they're not immortal.
The most common emotion seen when they're hit is amazement (how can this possibly happen to ME?).

Another is ignorance. In WWI a lot of romantic bullshit was told about heroic soldiers.
I sincerely hope that seeing warfare for what it's really like (and CDG helps a lot here),
with mobile phones putting images and videos on the internet within seconds,
showing the harsh reality just as it is, will cure that nonsense for good.

 

[KiltedSoldier]

Why do we join ? Most of us these days know the chance if being wounded or killed, especially in the Infantry. I don't think there is an easy answer - some for excitement, lack of other prospects, others like me is a family and cultural tradition, all young men want their manhood tested, the ultimate test is war, it goes beyond a rough sport, society has always praised young men who volunteer for war, giving them honour, and the uniform makes the lassies (and some laddies) want you too satisfying another need of young men. For me I just felt it was right ,what I was for, joined at 18, had been a cadet before that for 4 years, ended up in Iraq at 19. Aye it is true men are surprised when hit, although many of us pray before battle for courage, and hope we will face wounding or death bravely when it is our turn.

 

[Craigie Boy]

"The majority of soldiers fighting in World War I were volunteers..."

Even after 1916 when the UK Conscription Act was passed?

How's about this for romantic bullshit: "If I should die, think only this of me, that there's a corner of a foreign field that is forever England." (Rupert Brooke). But by the end of the war, the romanticism had been replaced by awareness of the terrible reality, and Wilfred Owen had written his Anthem for Doomed Youth.

 

[ivanhowe]

I am impressed with the intelligence of the contributers here. Obviously we have thought deeply about death, where most people put it out of their minds. As Noel Coward said-Sex rears its ugly head, and I have to interject something curious about my photo of the soldier from 3 points of view. I made it my wallpaper and I am just noticing that on the soldier (on the right) it appears to have flesh in the belly area, some hair and the soldier is manly equipped. Could the artist have made it apparent when the light was just right? You Scotts don't mind if it's seen, but in America C.1920's-good grief. - Would you approve of such treatment in artistic representation of Man in general?-Not porn, but admit it world, a man is a man. I also noticed that Michelangelo's David had an appropriately sized penis, whereas vastly endowed might have made the art too much.