Santa-claus (or: Buttplug, the eighth dwarf)
This statue of Santa-Claus, locally known as the Buttplug-lepricauhn has finally found its place at the center of a musuem of modern art here in Rotterdam, meant as a protest against overconsumption the statue has become, to put it mildly, somewhat controversial, I have to agree, you either like it and instantaneously crack a smile, or you realy, realllly hate it. Me? I just think it is a very funny statue & concept, I like the message that it is meant to convey and just basically love it when someone ads a bit of a sureal touch to the city-landscape, part of me keeps insisting that the whole brouhaha was cooked up by the artist, and if so: Well Done!
Originally meant to stand at the side of the "Doelen" theater, wich was kind of cool because the statue would dominate the second half of the street leading up to it and ad a nice "WTF is that" factor to driving down the first half,I have to agree though that placing a six meter (18 foot) garden-gnome on that particular spot could only be described as being "impractical" to say the least , the locals also grew somewhat alarmed at the prospect and launched a small local media offensive that, aided and abetted by the somewhat right-wing municipality Council party:"Leefbaar Rotterdam" was sucsesfull in barring Butty from the spot.
End of story.
Well, not realy, dutch commercial television-news, allways eager for ways to fill the countless hours of televisioncoverage of ourselfs, in many ways the ultimate example of that what the statue protests, got a hold of the story and Butty gained national notoriety, loh and behold after six months in a storage-depot , suddenly there are plans-galore for a spot, (In the catagory: "If only someone had the guts": on an island in the river "Maas" in front of the "Erasmus" bridge, acting as a Statue of Liberty for Rotterdam (It would look absolutely brilliant and get hit by ships at least 5 times a year) and members from the aforementioned somewhat right-wing municipality Council party now never fail to make an appearance, jittering about having grown attached to Butty in whatever media-exposure the Buttmeister befalls.
Rotterdam, on some days you just got to live the place.
Originally meant to stand at the side of the "Doelen" theater, wich was kind of cool because the statue would dominate the second half of the street leading up to it and ad a nice "WTF is that" factor to driving down the first half,I have to agree though that placing a six meter (18 foot) garden-gnome on that particular spot could only be described as being "impractical" to say the least , the locals also grew somewhat alarmed at the prospect and launched a small local media offensive that, aided and abetted by the somewhat right-wing municipality Council party:"Leefbaar Rotterdam" was sucsesfull in barring Butty from the spot.
End of story.
Well, not realy, dutch commercial television-news, allways eager for ways to fill the countless hours of televisioncoverage of ourselfs, in many ways the ultimate example of that what the statue protests, got a hold of the story and Butty gained national notoriety, loh and behold after six months in a storage-depot , suddenly there are plans-galore for a spot, (In the catagory: "If only someone had the guts": on an island in the river "Maas" in front of the "Erasmus" bridge, acting as a Statue of Liberty for Rotterdam (It would look absolutely brilliant and get hit by ships at least 5 times a year) and members from the aforementioned somewhat right-wing municipality Council party now never fail to make an appearance, jittering about having grown attached to Butty in whatever media-exposure the Buttmeister befalls.
Rotterdam, on some days you just got to live the place.
