# We're evacuating the planet, part ii: What sculptures shall we bring along? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514 "2011-09-25T00:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/1 "2011-09-25T00:34:15Z")
Obviously this is a sequel to [We’re evacuating the planet. What 100 paintings do you insist we bring with us?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14212396#post14212396) Like the other thread, this is just an excuse to talk about – and _link to pictures of_ – your favorite sculptures, and so doesn’t really need a setup. But if you’re one of those people who insists on a rationale, I’ll rip off the explanation from the earlier thread: The sun is going supernova. Fortunately I have prepared for this unlikely eventuality and have assembled a fleet of warp-capable space arks able to transport a few hundred million people to Tellus Secundus, an Earthlike planet about a month’s travel-time away. (Naturally most Dopers get a ticket.) But everyone is insisting on bringing their pets, so space is at a premium. (No one from Wales is allowed on board for that reason.) For sculptures we have alloted a cargo hold 50 meters long, 50 meters wide, and 50 meters high. What original sculptures do you insist we we bring along, and why? I will begin by noting that, though y’all are free to link to pictures of anything by Rodin, you can assume everything he ever touched is already in my personal ship, and that [The Lovers](http://www.playerbase.com/elysium/travel/europe99/europajpgs/france/rodin%20lovers.JPG) in particular is in my quarters, as is [Fallen Caryatid with Urn](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallen_Caryatid_with_Urn;_sculpture_by_Rodin;_front_side.JPG). I may let other people look at them. Then again I may not. I’m kind of a shit that way. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/2 "2011-09-25T00:49:04Z")
David ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/3 "2011-09-25T01:01:06Z")
While we’re on the subject of Michelangelo, lets grab the \*Pieta \*from the Vatican, then go back to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and pick up his unfinished \*Prisoners \*from there. I swear those figures would have come alive, if only he would have had time to finish releasing them from the stone. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/4 "2011-09-25T01:06:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > David I’m sure you meant to type (with spoiler space just in case John Ashcroft has joined up) [David](http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/michelangelo-1.jpg) right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/5 "2011-09-25T02:14:03Z")
Poseiden : [image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Athens_-_National_Archeological_Museum_-_Zeus_%28or_Poseidon%29_statue_-_20060930.jpg) Diskobolos : [image](http://www.takeourword.com/images/diskobolos.jpg) Laocoon : [image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg/280px-Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg) Khmer Jayavarman : [image](http://i.images.cdn.fotopedia.com/jmhullot-qrOGDLYOKrs-image/Paris_and_Vicinity/Set_default_flags/blockPictures/Places_of_Interest/Museums_and_Galleries/Musee_Guimet/Guimet_Museum-Jayavarman_VII-Khmer_sculpture-image.jpg) Nike of Samothrace : [image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Nike_of_Samothrake_Louvre_Ma2369_n4.jpg/250px-Nike_of_Samothrake_Louvre_Ma2369_n4.jpg) Khmer bronzes: Monkey King, Ganesh; Lotus : [image](http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/190412_10150098737085922_109915430921_6480925_4532871_n.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/6 "2011-09-25T02:27:20Z")
[Flight from Pompeii](http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/56931) by Benzoni. It won’t even take up much room. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/7 "2011-09-25T02:36:37Z")
[Bust of Nefertiti](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_of_Nefertiti). Have to include at least one ancient Egyptian work, and this is one of the best. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/8 "2011-09-25T02:48:14Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Laocoon : [image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg/280px-Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg) That would be my “must have.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/9 "2011-09-25T02:53:32Z")
Does the ship need ballast? If not, then forget the sculpture. The weight and space are better spent on people and life support. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/10 "2011-09-25T03:00:37Z")
_Venus of Willendorf_. Not much to look at, but historically significant: > **[Venus of Willendorf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf)** > > The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimetre-tall (4.4 in) Venus figurine estimated to have been made around 25,000–30,000 years ago. It was found on August 7, 1908, by a workman named Johann Veran or Josef Veram during excavations conducted by archaeologists Josef Szombathy, Hugo Obermaier, and Josef Bayer at a Paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. The figur The figure is ass... _Venus de Milo_. Classic beauty and grace. > **[Venus de Milo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_milo)** > > The Venus de Milo (/də ˈmaɪloʊ, də ˈmiːloʊ/ də MY-loh, də MEE-loh; Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδίτη τῆς Μήλου, romanized: Aphrodítē tēs Mḗlou) or Aphrodite of Melos is an ancient Greek sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period. It is one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture, having been prominently displayed at the Louvre Museum since shortly after the statue was rediscovered on the island of Milos, Greece, in 1820. > The Venus de Milo is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Gr... _Abraham Lincoln_, by Daniel Chester French, from the Lincoln Memorial. Austere patriotism at its best. > **[Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_%281920_statue%29)** > > Abraham Lincoln (1920) is a colossal seated figure of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) sculpted by Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. Located in the Lincoln Memorial (constructed 1914–1922), on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., United States, the statue was unveiled in 1922. The work follows in the Beaux Arts and American Renaissance style traditions. > The 170-ton statue is composed of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble (G... _George Washington_, by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Perfectly captures a great man’s dignity and reserve. [http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/gw/images/houdon-bust.jpg](http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/gw/images/houdon-bust.jpg) _Dancing Shiva_, bronze sculpture of the Chola period, unknown artist. Graceful and poetic. [![](http://rvccnotabene.yolasite.com/resources/Dancing%20Shiva.jpg) ](http://rvccnotabene.yolasite.com/resources/Dancing%20Shiva.jpg) _The Bronco Buster_ by Frederick Remington. Captures the horse and rider’s suppressed power and momentum beautifully. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/BroncoBusterRemingtonSculpture.gif](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/BroncoBusterRemingtonSculpture.gif) _Free Stamp_ by Claes Oldenburg, Cleveland. The mundane made interesting by supersizing. [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7fjPQ0A-4kI/TBrnx00R-cI/AAAAAAAAB-U/4K_8x4udYt4/s1600/day-0057.jpg) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7fjPQ0A-4kI/TBrnx00R-cI/AAAAAAAAB-U/4K_8x4udYt4/s1600/day-0057.jpg) _Robert Gould Shaw_ and the 54th Mass., by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Boston Common. Selfless courage and purposefulness, perfectly expressed. [http://www.nps.gov/boaf/historyculture/images/RGS\_2.jpg](http://www.nps.gov/boaf/historyculture/images/RGS_2.jpg) _The Crying Lion Memorial_, by Bertel Thorvaldsen, Luzerne, Switz. Tremendously evocative of a past tragic sacrifice. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3213/2597199745_5942d68885_b.jpg "Löwendenkmal ~ El monumento del león que está llorando ~ The Crying Lion...") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/brswanson/2597199745/) _Untitled_ by Alexander Calder, New York City. Bright and fun. [![](https://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/138291760_e674af1317.jpg) ](https://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/138291760_e674af1317.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/11 "2011-09-25T03:00:38Z")
[Chelsea Charms](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=iYSQ5Tt5PyvU) ETA: possibly not safe for work if your boss doesn’t appreciate great art ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/12 "2011-09-25T03:07:37Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > …Laocoon : [image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg/280px-Laocoon_Pio-Clementino_Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg)… Had you seen the Charles Addams parody?: [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/\_zBbk7VOCdHI/RZLk-5klvrI/AAAAAAAAAC0/mo7Ru0lFNzo/s200/addams.butcher.shop.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zBbk7VOCdHI/RZLk-5klvrI/AAAAAAAAAC0/mo7Ru0lFNzo/s200/addams.butcher.shop.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/13 "2011-09-25T03:29:58Z")
Pretty much everything that Bernini created, but his [David](http://smarthistory.org/Bernini-David.html) in particular, and [The Rape of Prosperina](http://www.students.sbc.edu/vermilya08/Bernini/Pluto%20and%20Proserpina.htm) next. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/14 "2011-09-25T03:34:38Z")
Most of it, because all the major ones take up minimal storage … could probably fit most of the world’s “major scripture” on around a gig or two. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/15 "2011-09-25T03:36:58Z")
OOps. I misread sculpture. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/16 "2011-09-25T03:41:46Z")
Seconding Michelangelo’s Pietà. That one simply cannot be left on Earth to melt. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But everyone is insisting on bringing their pets, so space is at a premium. I’m Armenian. The sheep is my…OK, yeah—let’s call her a ‘pet.’ > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Venus de Milo_. Classic beauty and grace. > [Venus de Milo - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_milo) I’m going to get drunk one night and sneak into the hold and superglue arms on that bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/17 "2011-09-25T05:07:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I will begin by noting that, though y’all are free to link to pictures of anything by Rodin, you can assume everything he ever touched is already in my personal ship, and that [The Lovers](http://www.playerbase.com/elysium/travel/europe99/europajpgs/france/rodin%20lovers.JPG) in particular is in my quarters, as is [Fallen Caryatid with Urn](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallen_Caryatid_with_Urn;_sculpture_by_Rodin;_front_side.JPG). I may let other people look at them. Then again I may not. I’m kind of a shit that way. I agree with you about Rodin, and would have listed Fallen Caryatid immediately. But I’d also include [The Kiss](http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/the-kiss.jpg) and [The Belle Heaulmiere](http://justinsomnia.org/archive/freshman/Art_Rodin_belle_heaulmiere.jpg) and probably _Le Penseur_ for good measure. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/18 "2011-09-25T05:11:39Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > While we’re on the subject of Michelangelo, lets grab the \*Pieta \*from the Vatican… Hell, let’s grab both of them. The one he did while still a [young man](http://dc-mrg.english.ucsb.edu/WarnerTeach/E192/Images/Michelangelo.pieta.all.jpg), and the one he did when he was an [old geezer](http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/michelangelo-sculptures-43.jpg). (I think the second one is in Florence.) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/19 "2011-09-25T05:24:20Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Does the ship need ballast? If not, then forget the sculpture. The weight and space are better spent on people and life support. Dude, you’re no fun. Hey, I say we leave Jimbo behind and bring along [one of these guys.](http://www.world-mysteries.com/easter_island_01.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-evacuating-the-planet-part-ii-what-sculptures-shall-we-bring-along/597514/20 "2011-09-25T17:17:26Z")
I’d like to suggest some Australian art. Mackennal’s [_Circe_](http://www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/mackennal/2.html) is my favourite. If statuary counts, and why wouldn’t it, I also love the [Discovery of Gold](http://monumentaustralia.org.au/monument_display.php?id=30368&image=0) monument in Bendigo, with the goddess Fortuna dropping a nugget into the beardy booted prospector’s pan. For a modern(er) twist, how about Piccinini? _[The Young Family](http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/wearefamily/index.php?sec=yf&pg=01)_ is, I think, her best-known work. I love 3D art!