It’s likely Nelson Mandela would have chuckled over the whole thing. The rabbit thing, that is. It seems the sculptors of his statue in Pretoria, South Africa, put a tiny rabbit in his left ear as their signature or trademark.
The statue was unveiled a month ago, but only recently did someone notice the rabbit. In their defense, the artists say they put it there when the Department of Arts and Culture, which commissioned the statue, prohibited their actual signatures on the statue’s trousers.
The artists, Ruhan Janse van Vuuren and Andre Prinsloo, have apologized and will be removing the rabbit. Officials, meantime, are supposedly trying to figure out an appropriate way for the artists to sign their work.
Too funny! Maybe they can etch a small rabbit somewhere. Hey, if Playboy can ensure a bunny is in every cover photo, surely there is a way to let these artists add a rabbit to the statue.
Frankly I don’t understand the original objection to the artists signing their work, with signatures, somewhere on the statue. I always thought that was customary — a signature somewhere, usually near the bottom or on the base. In place of or maybe along with a rabbit drawing. At this point the rabbit has become part of the history of the statue. I’d hate to see it disappear completely.
i like it, as an alternative, a mark of their work. it adds an interesting element to the piece. like you, i don’t understand why they were not allowed to leave their signature in the the first place.