Reflections on the city representative meaning of statues and controversial sculptures
Statue is solidified art with representative and commemorative.
First, let’s discuss the representativeness of statue as a form of expression of culture. Sculpture symbolizes a static city, because it can reflect the culture of a city and represent the spirit of the city. If you look at these sculptures individually, you can quickly guess which city they belong to. This fully reflects the representativeness of statues. This is also the reason why governments around the world sponsor the construction of statues in cities. For example, the Little Mermaid which is the protagonist of a fairy tale written by master Hans Christian Andersen, was built as a landmark in Copenhagen, Denmark, and became an important representative symbol like the Eiffel Tower in France.
Secondly, the commemorative significance of sculpture is always prone to controversy. A statue commemorating South African politician and mining magnate Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town (UCT) was lifted by a crane following pressure from Maxwele’s “poo protest” campaign. Because Rhodes was a true believer in British colonialism, and he was considered by many South Africans to be the initiator of racial separation. Therefore, the statue became a symbol of racism.
In fact, viewers make their own judgments about which characters should be memorialized in sculpture and which should not be. But the more important point is that, whether it is national heroes or statues that deserve to be revile and are given negative meanings, they are epochal. In different eras, symbols that represented the city would be replaced. For example, the statues were used to commemorate victory in their time, but from a modern perspective they bear the tint of slaughter and aggression. Maybe organizations or governments should not fund and maintain the statues that now seem to have negative thoughts, but everyone has the right to know about history. As expressed in the Controversial Monument text, sculpture exhibits should be displayed as visual aids in a museum to show its historical layers. For example, the Rhodes sculpture that has been removed, the sculpture that represents racism and discrimination can reasonably exist as it can be a sign of the times. But it should not be prominently displayed to the public. It should appear in the museum, where visitors can get together to discuss the history and understand the past civilization, and as a product of the times, bring people different thinking and reference.
But here I would like to share an example of a sculpture whose negative image has been recast with financial support from the government of Zhejiang Province, China. That is the statue of Qin Hui, a treacherous official in front of Yue Fei’s tomb in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. What makes this statue special is that Qin Hui is kneeling in front of Yue Fei’s tomb. Because Qin Hui was the prime minister in ancient Chinese history. He committed adultery and betrayed the country and killed the national soldier Yue Fei on a false charge. The statue is an artistic expression of guilt for Yue Fei and perpetuates Qin Hui’s infamy. By kneeling to commemorate the image of the despicable prime minister, the government warned the public that national heroes would be celebrated, while traitors would go down in bad memory.
