Statues have always been a high-profile target for vandalism. Whether socio-political or merely irreverent, messages of all sorts are strewn across these artistic monoliths, and we have seen no shortage of statue-related incidents over the past several years with calls for colonial monuments to be removed. This past week in Bordeaux, France, the Modeste Testas statue that stands as a memorial to the city’s role in the slave trade was covered in white plaster. And while official reports claim there was no racist intent by the perpetrator, the situation raises a number of questions. 

The statue, which was created by Haitian sculptor Woodly “Filipo” Caymitte, depicts Al Pouessi—known as Modeste Testas—who was taken from Ethiopia at a young age and enslaved by brothers from Bordeaux who ran a plantation in Haiti. It wasn’t until her captor died that she was granted legal freedom, and lived to the ripe age of 105. The Modeste Testas life-sized statue is cast in bronze and sits on the banks of Garonne and was unveiled in 2019.

It was this past Monday that the statue was found to be covered in white plaster. A legal complaint was issued, and as investigations carried on, it was deemed the actions of an art student whose identity has remained anonymous. When the situation was concluded, officials stated that the student claimed to have “no racist motive” and the complaint was withdrawn, with a message of disapproval from the city. It’s difficult not to take these statements with a grain of salt, but at the very least it is an active disrespect towards an important memorial for those affected by the slave trade.

It is also difficult not to look at this in the light of similar incidents in France and highlight the double standard. Black rights activist Franco Lollia was convicted and fined this past June for defacing a colonial monument. Depicting Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a 17th-century minister involved with creating laws for slavery was emblazoned in red with the words “State Negrophobia” by Lollia. The activist was fined over €1,500, but he and Guy Florentin—his lawyer—are intent on appealing the decision and pushing back against the decision to maintain monuments to racist historical figures. 

While both actions clearly take on the same form, they have been treated in entirely different manners by officials. One instance, whether it be racially motivated or simply vacant vandalism, is permitted with a finger waggle. The other, motivated by a fight against inequality, is punished. The Modeste Testas statue may be on the repair, but the archaic attitudes that governments follow in such matters are what clearly needs work.

Upon the recent discovery by researchers at Cornell University of a series of hand and footprints dating at about 200,000 years old, there has been a debate sparked as to whether this is the earliest piece of artwork to be discovered. The purported handprint art was discovered by a team of archaeologists and geologists in Tibet, and while the precision of its age and intent is still in flux, it does beg the question: is a handprint placed upon the Earth a work of art?

By the village of Quesang, on a limestone boulder beside a hot spring, archaeologist Tom Urban and his team found these series of hand and footprints. This past week, Urban and others published a study entitled “Earliest parietal art: hominin hand and foot traces from the middle Pleistocene of Tibet”. And Urban seems more than convinced that this discovery is an intentional act of creation by a pair of our ancient ancestors.

Based on the findings of the researchers at Cornell University, the handprint art is believed to have been made by children, aged between 7 and 11. “This would make the site the earliest currently known example of parietal art in the world and would also provide the earliest evidence discovered to date for hominins on the High Tibetan Plateau,” the study states. “This remarkable discovery adds to the body of research that identifies children as some of the earliest artists within the genus Homo.”

Without diving too deep into the endless and unanswerable question of “What is art?”, there are clearly many angles to take this finding and what it implies. Is a finger painting by a child—whether it be on paper or on the plaster walls—any less art than a painstakingly crafted jewel of the Renaissance? While they certainly are judged in completely different ballparks, they are both physically manifested creative intent. 

To hone in on a more comparable reference point: is a child’s finger painting any less art than the ancient cave drawings researchers have poured over for centuries? If the dating of these prints is accurate, this also makes them 100,000 years older than what we thought to be the earliest examples of art. And is the deliberate act of leaving a series of hand and footprints for oneself and others to see any less valid than simple etchings of animals? 

This handprint art is all the more resonant in the debate of early art because it is something so universal and relatable. Which of us haven’t as youths placed a hand or a foot in soft mud or sand, perhaps even drawing an image or a name with a finger, and felt ourselves inhabited by the spirit of artistry? While Cornell University’s discovery may still be contested and examined in regards to its exact place in time, what is certainly true is that one day, long ago in Tibet, some young people chose to leave their mark upon the land, and it is still stirring thoughts and questions to this day.

If that isn’t art, what is?

A common thread throughout the majority of public art is positivity. Whether this is through the form of performance, statue, or mural, a strong desire woven into many pieces meant for pedestrian consumption is that they strike a bright chord. While there are certainly those of empowering or socio-politically critical bends, there is certainly a lean towards hopeful beacons of expression sewn throughout cities, and so it comes as no surprise how resonant the Big Love Balls of Vancouver, British Colombia were when a new pop-up appeared across the Canadian city this past week.

Courtesy of North Shore News.

Without much explanation, one can likely conjure the image of the Big Love Balls—in an entirely safe-for-work connotation. Large (person-height), plastic, glossy neon pink spheres, all huddled into a pile and each emblazoned with the word “LOVE”. These pearly pyramids of pink sprouted up across shipyards and other sections of Northern Vancouver as a pop-up, to the seeming delight of passersby.

The Big Love Balls are a piece of the larger project Big Love Ball by B.C. artist Wendy Williams Watt. And the reason the interior designer/art director began this venture six years ago is understandable enough. “I created Big Love Ball for countless reasons,” Watt states on her website. “But simply put, it’s what I feel inside. It is a physical expression of a feeling I have when I interact with people who are genuinely opening their hearts.” And in so many ways, pop-up public works like these are the best way to manifest those feelings of interaction with the broadest of audiences.

Courtesy of Big Love Ball.

By no means a new sight for the citizens of Vancouver, all things Big Love Ball seem to still draw admiration from the city. “I want people in our community to know they are loved, and they are a valued part of our community,” Mayor Linda Buchanan stated. Watt’s balls of love have taken all sorts of forms and held all sorts of homes—pins, stickers, and hot air balloons; shop windows, streets, and city hall.

A very obvious comparison can be drawn from Watt’s works to the most iconic and replicated public artworks, Love by Robert Indiana. The simplistic piece of pop-art history, based on Indiana’s design which originally appeared as the New York MoMA’s 1965 Christmas card cover, can be seen across the globe in countless languages and alphabets. But the striking red letters, the signature titling O, and the magnetic draw these sculptures all hold for passersby are universal to each rendition of the piece. 

Both Love and Big Love Balls hold the purest message of all, a simple expression of love, and so it is little surprise why these works are so beloved. Wendy Williams Watt taps into the same bare essence as Robert Indiana, one that almost anyone can find themselves in agreement to. There are few things nobler than the desire to flourish love in the hearts of strangers, and it is highly likely this isn’t the last time we’ll see a beaming beacon of “LOVE” bouncing by.

Legendary for his work in modern musical theatre, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s pieces have been a fixture in theatre for decades. From Jesus Christ Superstar to Phantom of the Opera to the recently rejuvenated awkwardness of Cats, the influential writer is still crafting musicals to this day. So it may come as little surprise that he is the owner of West End London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane—a historical theatre that just finished a two-year renovation this summer. But what might come as some surprise is the composer using the halls of Drury Lane to display his Pre-Raphaelite collection.

As part of the £60million pound restoration project for Drury Lane, sections of the grand theatre have been made accessible during the day, including gallery space. Much of the works on display are Webber’s Pre-Raphaelite pieces, which include Edward Burne-Jones’ The Adoration of the Kings & Shepherds, but newer pieces also can be found such as the works of Maria Kreyn that depict various Shakespearean scenes. With both the gorgeous aesthetics of the remodelling as well as the integration and presentation of Webber’s collection, artistry abounds in the new Drury Lane.

Theatre Royal Drury Lane has been operating for 350 years, first being constructed in 1663, and has since been a piece of theatre history on a massive scale. Its stages have been graced by the likes of Nell Gwynn—one of the first female actors of English stage—as well as Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady. The gearing towards utilizing more of the space for daytime viewing via the gallery spaces as well as dining and drinking areas seems a step in the right direction for historically grandiose theatres such as this, making for more than an empty building and rehearsals by daylight.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s influence within the theatre community of England and the world at large can’t be understated. His are wise hands to hold such a treasure as the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. As a wealth of theatres undergo and emerge from restorations, it is heartening to see the care put into maintaining these titans of theatre past.