Look at that thing. Even I, an atheist, think it's dreadful. It's supposed to be a statue of Pope John Paul II. Here's the first paragraph of the AP story about the displeasure surrounding the statue.
ROME (AP) — He was pilloried by the Vatican for creating a sculpture of Pope John Paul II that some mockingly say looks more like Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini than the beloved late pontiff. Now artist Oliviero Rainaldi has a chance at redemption.
Some Italians have said it looks like a public urinal.
A pissoir. (Oops, wrong country.) Makes you want to stop by and "use" it. But despite high hopes at the Vatican, here's what the artist says about his coming "remake":
The bronze's "patina," or sheen, which now ranges from a sickly green to a brownish area on the cloak that looks as if a cappuccino was spilled on it, will be redone, leaving the work with a uniform, dark "cold green" hue, the 55-year-old artist said.
While the city's announcement says the head will be "redone," Rainaldi insists he'll only do "technical touchups."
Well, that'll fix it up, for sure. Anyway, I'm glad the Vatican can't even hire a guy to make an attractive popey guy statue. Maybe it's impossible and every popey guy statue has to look like death. Makes sense, actually. I'd love to see this artist's conception of the current popey guy. I'll bet it would make people
shiver. C'mon, Rainaldi, make it!
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