The row over the Rhodes statue in Oxford reveals the superstitious way we view sculpted figures – more alive to us than the campaigners care to admitCampaigners calling for an Oxford University statue to be toppled have achieved the uncanny. They have brought the 19th-century imperialist Cecil Rhodes back to life. His dim spirit now inhabits his statue at Oriel College as if its stone were flesh and blood. An thing has become a living entity through the power of rage.
I once saw something similar happen in Sicily,where the city of Trapani has a statue of the Virgin Mary in its cathedral that comes to life once a year and miraculously moves through the streets. It has some assistance, carried at the head of a long procession to the raucous sound of a brass band. But the effect is mystical and wondrous; the statue really seems to “live” for a night.
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Source: theguardian.com