Look Back in Anger, John Osborn’s 1951 play about disaffection, could be the title for this past week’s story about trashing effigies of famous people.
When it comes to defacing statues in America, objects of disaffection are usually bronze works commemorating the confederacy. But there’s this other variety of damaged goods made of wax that vandals also keep attacking.
The whole ball of wax
The Baltimore Sun reports that the wax figure of Donald Trump, installed in 2017 in the Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax in San Antonio Texas, has been so “scratched and punched” that it had to be removed for repairs.
Newsweek provided further details saying that tufts of Trump’s hair were pulled out. And social media users shared Instagram images of Trump’s waxwork because it was displayed next to Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Party favors
Not that Trump’s figure is the only sullied waxwork of a president. The damaging comes down to the political party you favor or fume about. Suzanne Smagala-Potts, speaking for Ripley Entertainment, which manages the San Antonio display, points out that wax statues of George Bush and Barack Obama also have been attacked and needed repairs.
Stats show that replicas of the last three presidents have been subject to constant vandalism at the San Antonio museum.
For example, Obama’s ears were ripped off and Bush’s nose got punched in. President Biden’s figure has yet to be created.
Standing guard
But not all defaced waxworks occur in the U.S. The head of Adolf Hitler was lopped off in Madame Tussauds museum in Berlin in 2008. San When replaced, two guards were posted for protection.
At this point. Smagala-Potts isn’t sure if a repaired Trump waxwork will get guards in San Antonio.
A San Antonio Express-News report suggests that Trump’s statue will need protection. Assaults to his wax figure became more frequent during last year’s election. Even when the statue was later placed in the lobby of the San Antonio Palace pf Wax so more eyes could monitor it, “the jabs and scratches did not stop,” Smagala-Potts said.
Posting pique
Clearly, there’s lingering anger in the ranks at Trump. A Twitter user suggested that more figures of him should be displayed so people can act out their anger “for cathartic release.” Going one better, another user offered the idea of having the real-life Trump stand in his statue’s place to keep the wax version out of the repair shop.
Commemoration with a chainsaw
But wait, you don’t have to be a political leader to see a replica of yourself vandalized. I’m thinking of Melania Trump’s statue in her hometown of Slovenia. In 2020, the police there told CNN that a wood version carved with a chainsaw by local folk artist Ales Zupevc in 2019 was set on fire and had to be removed.
Because Melania is not a president of anything and because the statue was erected in her hometown, one wonders if the vandal simply didn’t like Zupevc’s work.
After all, hacking out her image with a chain saw rendered her features unrecognizable.
Yahoo reports that a life-size bronze of the former first lady has taken the place of the torched version. But the bronze work looks a lot like the wood version with the same rough-hewn, unrecognizable face. One may wonder how long it’ll take the Slovenian who torched Melania’s wood figure to wreck the bronze. Watch this space.
