People Made Statues Look Funny (8 Photos)

The joke takes a second. The sculpture has a longer story.

These eight photos go beyond the pose, tracing the artworks, artists and places behind each joke.

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🧗 Counterpoint Tug-of-War — By Dennis Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 🇺🇸

The photo shows the mother-and-daughter group from Dennis Smith’s 1979 Counterpoint: a woman swinging a girl through the air. The installation stands opposite the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City. The visitor grips the bronze girl’s feet and braces his shoes against the plinth, briefly turning the scene into a tug-of-war. More: Playing With Statues.

💡 Nerd Fact: Counterpoint consists of two figure groups. Its companion shows a father with a young boy seated on his shoulders.

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😔 Sad Together — With The Thinker by Jesse Beesley in Covina, California, USA 🇺🇸

The girl drops her head into one hand beside the bronze boy. The Smithsonian identifies the work as Jesse Beesley’s circa-1969 The Thinker, cast by Excalibur Bronze Sculpture Foundry. It stands at Forest Lawn–Covina Hills, at 21300 Via Verde Drive. More: People Made Statues Look Hilarious.

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💦 Merlion Hydration — Statue Designed by Kwan Sai Kheong and Built by Lim Nang Seng in Singapore 🇸🇬

The visitor stands in the foreground and aligns his open mouth with the fountain’s distant stream. Singapore’s National Heritage Board records that the first Merlion statue was constructed in 1972 by local sculptor Lim Nang Seng from a blueprint by artist Kwan Sai Kheong. The National Archives describes the 8.6-metre-high, 70-tonne work, now standing beside One Fullerton in Merlion Park. More: Playing With Statues.

💡 Nerd Fact: The Merlion originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. After the Esplanade Bridge blocked waterfront views of the statue, it was relocated in 2002 and placed facing east, an auspicious direction in Chinese geomancy.

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💁 Hair Flip — Artist and Location Unknown 🌍

The statue’s open hand is already in the right place. The visitor leans back, holds her cheek and throws her hair sideways. The flying hair does the rest. More: People Made Statues Look Hilarious.

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🕷️ When Spidey Met His Match — With Jorge Matute Remus by Carlos Terrés in Guadalajara, Mexico 🇲🇽

The cosplayer lifts both feet and aligns the statue’s free hand with his neck. Carlos Terrés’ bronze shows engineer Jorge Matute Remus with his other hand pressed against the former telephone building at Avenida Juárez 506. The University of Guadalajara records that the life-size statue was unveiled there in 2002, recalling Matute Remus’ 1950 feat of moving the 1,700-tonne building 12 metres without interrupting telephone service. More: Playing With Statues.

💡 Engineering Fact: Eight 25-tonne railway jacks advanced the building only 0.8 millimetres with each push. An alarm button was installed at each of its 26 columns so the operation could be stopped immediately if anything went wrong.

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⚾ Perfect Timing — Harmon Killebrew by Bill Mack at Target Field in Minneapolis, USA 🇺🇸

Bill Mack’s 2010 bronze catches Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew at full extension in his swing outside Target Field. The boy leans back until the bat lines up with his face, and the camera does the rest. More: Playing With Statues.

💡 Nerd Fact: Killebrew put on his uniform and modelled for Mack’s reference photographs in 2009, showing the sculptor the details of how he held the bat.

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💋 Love Is in the Air — With 내 품 안의 그대 at Jeju Love Land in Jeju City, South Korea 🇰🇷

The visitor sits within the figure’s open arms and leans in for a kiss. A 2009 report in Jeju Ilbo identifies the sculpture as 내 품 안의 그대, roughly “You in My Arms,” and describes it as a participatory work completed when a visitor steps into the seated figure’s embrace. VisitKorea places the park at 2894-72 1100-ro in Jeju City. More: Fun With Statues.

💡 Nerd Fact: The participation created a maintenance problem. By 2009, the figure’s fingers had reportedly broken dozens of times; Jeju Ilbo reported that the park reinforced the hands with steel, but visitor-related damage continued.

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🥋 Breaking Into the Conversation — Conversation by William Hodd McElcheran in Calgary, Canada 🇨🇦

The visitor plants one foot on each bronze businessman’s hat. Calgary’s public-art guide identifies McElcheran’s Conversation as part of his Businessman Series and places it at 216 8 Avenue SW on Stephen Avenue Mall. It is a very direct way to interrupt a conversation. More: Fun With Statues.

💡 Nerd Fact: McElcheran conceived his life-size businessmen at pavement level as replacements for classical heroes traditionally raised on high pedestals.

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Which one is your favorite?