vote for the most terrifying gigantic statue of all time

idk if anyone itt is into these statues from a religious pov, it seems alien to me but clearly lots of people flock to them. curious how something can be a focus of religious attention as well as a spectacle. found this pic of what is apparently a buddhist temple in a theme park in ho chi minh city, vietnam, seems notable

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/29959831.jpg

http://www.laobserved.com/images/chickenboy.gif

chicken boy stalks the rooftops of LA

The scale of the Spring Temple Buddha is freaking me out:

http://oddstuffmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/spring+temple+buddha.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiIzSGwtMCY/T4pxgx9vEJI/AAAAAAAACwg/ht6nC-J6DJs/s400/DSC03612.jpg

hanuman is a v charismatic deity, I love how he avoids monkey stereotypes & is always show as noble, devoted & heroic. also love the physiques on hindu statues in general. otoh he is armed & this statue is needlessly huge

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6uH7VsRmNXw/T_Yy6rPZWUI/AAAAAAAABUg/0N3QsYUg7Iw/s1600/paritala3.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oV1MoJWhBYI/T_Yy3733urI/AAAAAAAABUY/qnQ164BbZeI/s1600/paritala2.jpg

hopefully he is presiding over the landscape in his role as a scholar of grammar, my favourite of his attributes

http://sarahandgretchen.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/giant-morales-statue.jpg

Morelos statue, Mexico

http://m6.i.pbase.com/o4/78/599778/1/102563346.K35ccwna.56133235.0000471.jpg

Morelos statue, rear view

the denver horse statue actually KILLED its sculptor (its arm fell on him): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Jim%C3%A9nez_%28sculptor%29

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/media/uploads/post/6553/trees-of-mystery.jpg

xp murderous statues get a bonus point

http://www.incolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/375015238_fc01f528921.jpg

the three-sided guanyin of the south sea of china is the most excellent seaside statue imo

http://www.chinatourguide.com/china_photos/sanya/attractions/nanshan_temple_buddha.jpg

i like the idea of "the observer of all the cries in the world" - seems less authoritarian than some statues

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7056/6870505353_205869d3b1_z.jpg

ppl race boats around her

http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6403/137106206.a9/0_8b971_3d88554c_orig.jpg

and she has a rad light show

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20120516/001aa018f83f111d52015d.jpg

full marks

not sailed a boat round that but i have driven a car around dorking's inexplicable giant metal chicken...

http://www.summagallicana.it/lessico/d/Dorking%20giant.jpg

ooooh i like that one too

redwoods paul bunyan is pretty cool. everyone loves to touch babe's balls. the trees of mystery thing there remains a mystery to me b/c i do not want to spend the money

have to say though i am not very terrified by any statue on flatlands, you need some topography or a huge platform or somehting to bring the real terror

(meant that i liked the 3-sided guanyin)

these poor statues were blown up by the taliban around 2000-2001

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Taller_Buddha_of_Bamiyan_before_and_after_destruction.jpg

fuctional
http://media.trb.com/media/photo/2011-08/273455360-13124806.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UAdR9qr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0e0DyLl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yU0Em1a.jpg

Classic old-school ILX thread

Good work everyone

http://i.imgur.com/9L3wUnh.png

http://i.imgur.com/Vg99G2X.jpg

lol at the marilyn monroe pic

nothing says haunting spectre of the past like ruined soviet statues. makes me think of goldeneye

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130125140136/jamesbond/images/6/60/Goldeneye_-_Trevelyan_reveals_himself.jpg

Prior to this thread I had forgotten they based the space jockey in Prometheus on Lenin

All hail the Cosmoplanetary Messiah (Gilbert Bourdin to his mum):

http://i.imgur.com/JhA2qtM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ka4oxEi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zhmomCF.jpg

xp what's going on there?

this statue of former chinese head of state & wife of sun yat sen soong ching-ling was started and then mysteriously scrapped

http://www.giganticstatues.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Soong-Ching-Ling-Statue.jpg

The French authorities blew the statue up as the cult that erected it didn't have planning permission.

Yesssss this thread (highly recommend Boredoms 'vision creation newsun' while scrolling through) - I used love the Michigan ave Marilyn - I 2nd, Classis ILX goodness.

http://i.imgur.com/e6JgmfC.jpg

xxp amazing. none of the best statues have planning permission.

bamiyan buddhas yawning absence

http://tendtotravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Destroyed-Buddhas-in-Bamiyan-by-NRio-e1321178125666.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zarFXN3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/s514Pbg.jpg

maybe you could say the islamic prohibition on idols stems from a lack of sensuality or unworldliness but I think a god who is totally trascendent, who has 99 names, is a more potent idea. idolatry (shirk) is the single unpardonable sin in islam, because it compromises the oneness of god. there's something sympathetic about that to me

xp love the laozi statue

wowwww @ nanshan temple

ahaha thank you 龜
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542713/Chinese-restaurant-owner-told-pull-two-gigantic-50ft-naked-Buddhas-establishment-s-roof.html

(maybe nsfw (butts))

http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/pic_2011_04_01s.jpg

there's something so wonderful about this, being indoors adds to the feeling he's in the bath

http://www.zhanghuan.com/images/work/sculpture/2011/pic_2011_04_05s.jpg

apparently his chest moves as if he's breathing (!)

what is with these ginormous buddhist affronts to the impermanence of all existence, kinda seems like someone woulda spoken up waaaay before all the laboring on stones & such ever got close to completion

who on earth is that giant head rising above the rock face? the photo with the chinese banners? what a weird image.

Here is a giant buddha in Sri Lanka who has people living in his head:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/aa/6a/be/wewurukannala-vihara.jpg

In terms of statues I have to put up with almost every working day, this one's fairly terrifying:

http://media4.troverapp.com/T/4fcbc70dfeaf5e1e5d00006b/large_2x.jpg

Watching "Jason And The Argonauts" ruined me for life. I have never (WILL never) visit The Statue If Liberty and walking by that big statue at Rockefeller Center still gives me the creeps. I hate these things. Cool thread, though!

Mind you I saw that film the first time when I was around 4 and have watched it again since but that Titan...brrrr. CGI can never go there.

M. John Harrison's story "Settling the World" to this awesome thread.

Future contender, the 563 ft Crazy Horse memorial.

http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/images/about-future2.jpg

Brest Hero-Fortress memorial, Belarus:

http://i.imgur.com/RCwzya4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S1hUikp.jpg

a monument to those valiant warriors who lost their battle with scoliosis the Wehrmacht. it may not be the biggest statue in the world, but it's certainly the biggest disappointed dad ("I died defending the Motherland against the Nazis, and what have you done with your day?"), and it must be extremely demoralizing to witness his great hulking disdain in person.

(CNN came under fire a couple of months ago for including it in its "world's ugliest monuments" listicle)