Friday, January 20, 2012

Soldier on

Might as well start the year as we mean to go on with a sculpture made of something weird. This time it's little soldier figures (come on, at least it isn’t made by a horse or an ant or a dog). In fact this is made by human being Mr Joe Black (his website claims “If it’s small enough I’ll stick it down”). Black amassed 5,500 toy soldiers and created a 3D version of Robert Capa’s famous March 1938 Life magazine cover photograph Boy soldier, Hankou, China. The photo spread was part of the magazine's coverage of the Nanking Massacre that started in December 1937. You can still buy a copy of the magazine with the Capra cover.
Image: Left Joe Black’s sculpture Big China, Right top, detail of the Black work and Right below, the Life cover with Capra’s photograph