Well, keep in mind that the Adam Hughes statue series is being marketed as a "cheesecake" series, so it wasn't the place we were likely to see a "warrior" Barda statue.
I *like* the "Women Of The DCU" line! For a certain value of like, at least: not all of the statues are to my taste, but they're fun, cute, well done, and the women have the impression of being people. There's a sense of who the characters *are*.
This sculpt, however, is none of those things. From an artistic point of view, it's badly done. As a representation of Barda herself it fails, since nothing about the character (as a warrior or even a *person*) carries through. The optimist in me hopes that the intent was different, but turning a powerful female character into a passive object is more than just offensive or problematic - it's misogynist. Saying it is meant to be "cheesecake" is not an excuse.
Also, don't necessarily blame Hughes for the specific sculpting issues here. He did the drawing the statue was based on. Somebody else did the actual sculpting. And they may have just screwed up really badly.
I'm sure they did - Huges' expressions in his drawings tend to be more animated, so I'm sure the sculptor messed that up royally. OTOH, Huges is probably responsible for the pose and the worst of the screwy anatomy.
People I am blaming for this: the designer, the sculptor, the painter, the person in charge of okaying the final piece, whoever wrote the solicit... DC offices in general. It's a failure on the part of everyone who thought it would be okay.
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Date: 2006-11-14 11:47 pm (UTC)I *like* the "Women Of The DCU" line! For a certain value of like, at least: not all of the statues are to my taste, but they're fun, cute, well done, and the women have the impression of being people. There's a sense of who the characters *are*.
This sculpt, however, is none of those things. From an artistic point of view, it's badly done. As a representation of Barda herself it fails, since nothing about the character (as a warrior or even a *person*) carries through. The optimist in me hopes that the intent was different, but turning a powerful female character into a passive object is more than just offensive or problematic - it's misogynist. Saying it is meant to be "cheesecake" is not an excuse.
Also, don't necessarily blame Hughes for the specific sculpting issues here. He did the drawing the statue was based on. Somebody else did the actual sculpting. And they may have just screwed up really badly.
I'm sure they did - Huges' expressions in his drawings tend to be more animated, so I'm sure the sculptor messed that up royally. OTOH, Huges is probably responsible for the pose and the worst of the screwy anatomy.
People I am blaming for this: the designer, the sculptor, the painter, the person in charge of okaying the final piece, whoever wrote the solicit... DC offices in general. It's a failure on the part of everyone who thought it would be okay.