Ashita no Joe on a rainbow bench, Kokusai-dôri, Naha

I came across this sculpture on Kokusai-dôri in Naha, Okinawa, and was struck by it (figuratively speaking). There's something about it I find quite compelling.

The fact that it is out in public, looking upon very first glance as if it were a real person on a regular (albeit quite colorful) public bench. Context is everything. I don't know what I'd think about this work if it were in a white, sterile museum gallery.

The man is clean, smooth, simple like an anime character - he lacks the complex details of a real person's body hairs, wrinkles and scars, discolored spots, or even shadows, despite being a solid, three-dimensional figure. His clothes suggest he is a fighter of some sort, perhaps a boxer, or some other kind of athlete.

His pose, I thought, suggested defeat, perhaps despair, and while I am a generally optimistic and upbeat person, it is the contrast of that emotion with the bright colors of the bench, the bright anime style of his being, and the vibrant cultural and natural environment of Okinawa that I find particularly interesting.

This is the only photo I have of the work - this is the only angle from which I can now view it. And I wonder - I never looked at it too up close, or from any other angle - if just maybe he might be smiling. Can you tell in the photo? Am I just imagining it? If he is, it changes the emotion, the feel, of the piece entirely. And it is that unknown which I find even more intriguing.

See where this picture was taken. [?]

Taken in: 日本 / 沖縄県 / 那覇市 (show map)

Taken on: March 11, 2008

Tags:

sculpture

public art

Kokusai-dori

Naha

那覇市

bench

anime sculpture

geo:lat=26.214052

geo:lon=127.681657

geotagged

Okinawa

沖縄

Ashita no Joe

あしたのジョー

Joe Yabuki

矢吹丈

statues « less

Sets appears in: • Okinawan Art • Favorites more » • 沖縄（平成20年3月） « less

Groups appears in: • Okinawa Champuru • Colour Mania

Camera: Pentax Optio E50, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Pentax Optio E50
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Optio E50 Ver 1.00
Show full info

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