Copying the Pose (8 Photos)

They Had to Join In

A trumpet gets a silent complaint. A museum visit becomes a group performance. A giant head gets a snack. These eight photos catch people finding a part for themselves in a sculpture’s pose, with a well-timed gesture or a perfectly placed hand.

More: Playing With Statues (21 Photos)

---

💋 A Kiss Across the Bench — Jeju, South Korea 🇰🇷

An arm stretched along a bench becomes an invitation. At Jeju Loveland, this visitor completes the scene with a kiss, meeting the sculpture halfway.

---

👥 A Full Cast — By Virginio Arias in Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱

One person copying a pose is funny. Five people assembling the entire group, right down to the draped head and dangling feet, is a production.

💡 Sculpture Fact: Virginio Arias made the marble group El descendimiento in 1887. It is held by Chile’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsEl descendimientoVirginio Arias · 1887 · SantiagoVirginio AriasMarble224 cm tall1Arias showed the group at the 1887 Paris Salon and won a third-class medal.Artistas Visuales Chilenos (MNBA)2Chile’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes acquired it in 1890; it can be visited in the museum hall.Artistas Visuales Chilenos (MNBA)1887Third-class medal, Paris Salon · MNBA1889First-class medal, Universal Exhibition · MNBA1890Enters the museum’s collection · SURDOC1901First medal, Buffalo · SURDOC1903Pictured in a book on Chile · Carlos Tornero201415 MayPhotographed in the museum · camera date202516 JulPhotographed in the museum hall · camera date202522 AugOn view in the museum hall · MNBAMore photos2025 The whole group, unobstructed, in the museum hallPhoto: Rjcastillo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Read the full file →

---

😮 Just One Bite — By Robert Arneson in Davis, California, USA 🇺🇸

The head provides the open mouth; the visitor supplies the alarm. One outstretched leg and a raised hand turn Robert Arneson’s giant face into an unlikely hungry character.

💡 Series Fact: Yin and Yang is one of five Egghead sculptures Arneson created for UC Davis, where he taught ceramics from 1962 to 1991. He positioned the original pair outside the fine arts complex himself, shortly before his death in 1992.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsYin and YangRobert Arneson · 1992 · DavisRobert ArnesonAcrylic on bronzeUC Davis1Arneson positioned the original pair himself, shortly before his death in 1992.UC Davis, 20042It is one of five Egghead sculptures commissioned in 1989 for UC Davis.San Francisco Arts Commission1989Egghead series commissioned · SF Arts Commission1992SepNewest Eggheads laid near the Art Building · The Aggie20046 FebOriginal pair outside the fine arts complex · UC Davis2010NovOn its lawn by Wright Hall · Street ViewRead the full file →

---

📄 Paper Storm — Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵

A frozen baseball swing becomes a slapstick moment: a jump, a startled expression and papers everywhere. The timing does all the storytelling.

💡 Character Fact: The batter is Taro Yamada from Shinji Mizushima’s Dokaben, one of the characters on Niigata’s manga sculpture street.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTaro Yamada (Dokaben) statueShinji Mizushima Manga Street · NiigataDokabenBronzeFurumachi 5, Niigata1The bronze batter is Taro Yamada, the hero of Shinji Mizushima’s baseball manga Dokaben.Niigata Repo2Visitors pose so his full swing seems to hit them, a photo gag reported in 2015.Tokyo Otaku Mode201412 JanProfiled on Manga Street · Niigata Repo20158 MarBat-gag photos reported · Tokyo Otaku Mode2022JulIn place · Street ViewRead the full file →

---

🪢 A Third Player — By Dennis Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 🇺🇸

Dennis Smith’s Counterpoint becomes a tug-of-war when a visitor joins the mother and child. His lean supplies the imaginary resistance; the bronze figures never give an inch.

💡 Sculpture Fact: The Smithsonian’s art inventory records Counterpoint as two bronze figure groups, dedicated in August 1979: this mother swinging her daughter, and a father with a boy on his shoulders.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCounterpointDennis Smith · 1979 · Salt Lake CityDennis SmithBronze200 South, Salt Lake City1The sculpture was erected in 1979, across the street from the Capitol Theatre.Encircle Photos2Waymarking lists bronze figures on a concrete base at 200 South and 50 West.Waymarking1979Erected · Encircle Photos1993Surveyed by Save Outdoor Sculpture! · Wikipedia20119 MayListed on Waymarking2025JulOn its pedestal · Street ViewRead the full file →

---

🕺 Joining the Routine — By Auguste Rodin in Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰

Two visitors find the same bend in Rodin’s The Shade and turn it into a three-person routine. Their tilted heads and lowered arms make the standing figure’s pose look like a step everyone knows.

💡 Collection Fact: The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek owns both a plaster and a bronze of The Shade. Carl Jacobsen ordered the plaster from Rodin in 1903, and it arrived in Copenhagen in 1904.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe ShadeAuguste Rodin · 1880 · CopenhagenAuguste RodinPlasterNy Carlsberg Glyptotek1Carl Jacobsen ordered this plaster in August 1903, and it arrived in Copenhagen in June 1904.Rodin-Web, Glyptotek list2The Glyptotek dates the model to 1880 and this plaster cast to 1903–1904.Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 20211903AugOrdered by Carl Jacobsen · collection list1904JunArrives in Copenhagen · collection list2021Listed in the Glyptotek’s Rodin catalogueRead the full file →

---

🎺 Not a Fan of the Solo — Dénia, Spain 🇪🇸

The trumpet is aimed, the player leans in, and the statue appears to have heard quite enough. Its raised hands do the rest.

💡 Port Fact: The crouching figure is the statue of Cronos at the ferry terminal in the Port of Dénia.

---

🙌 Same Arms, Different Metal — New York City, USA 🇺🇸

Elbows bent, hands held low in front. In the indoor garden court of the Frick Collection, a visitor in a blue shirt borrows the pose of the bronze figure beside him, minus the pedestal.

💡 Sculpture Fact: The Frick lists a bronze Marine Nymph, after Stoldo Lorenzi and probably 18th century, in its Garden Court.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMarine NymphAfter Stoldo Lorenzi · probably 18th century · New YorkAfter Stoldo LorenziBronzeFrick Garden Court1The Frick dates this bronze, made after Stoldo Lorenzi, probably to the 18th century.The Frick Collection2It came to Frick in 1916 from the Earl of Ashburnham’s collection in Sussex.The Frick Collection1916Enters Frick’s collection · The Frick194718 FebPhotographs registered · US copyright catalog20162 SepPhotographed in the Garden Court · camera date202617 AprDescribed in a visitor’s blogRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Tomwsulcer / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)