The city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, commissioned a great deal of public art. The sculptures are more-or-less abstract, quite playful, and rather weird.
When I was last there, after a very luxurious trip across the country, I was thoroughly sick of being wined-and-dined. Since Jeddah is one of the few places where a vaguely Arab-looking man in Western clothes can walk around unnoticed, that's what I proceeded to do. That led to an impromptu basketball game with a group of Filipino expats. I automatically blurted out "Kumusta-ka!" when their car pulled up in front of me as I watched other people toss a ball around on some public courts, and an invitation to play naturally followed.
So when they told me that the below sculpture had, in fact, been designed by a Filipino, I was not surprised. I have also been unable to stop laughing.
And a close up:
Brought to you by the country that named its first independence movement the "KKK." I am not surprised, and I am still laughing.
Not quite as abstract as it might be.
Posted by: Andrew Lambdin-Abraham | November 20, 2007 at 10:30 PM
True. "More-or-less."
But in this case ... I'm cracking up all over again. They can't not know, can they?
Posted by: Noel Maurer | November 20, 2007 at 10:42 PM
1) Oh my people.
2) What the hell are the *boats* doing?
Posted by: Carlos | November 20, 2007 at 11:44 PM
Hey, sometimes a banana is just a banana.
Posted by: Bernard Guerrero | November 20, 2007 at 11:47 PM
You know, I completely missed the second boat. I thought it was Noah's Ark.
Posted by: Andrew Lambdin-Abraham | November 21, 2007 at 06:08 PM
Fish are never just fish, Bernard. Nor are cigars ever just cigars. We both have family in South Florida, sir, where such things are more obvious than elsewhere.
Wait ... you do have family in South Florida, right?
I am relieved that nobody from the Middle East has linked to this post. That Feedjit thing, it is scary.
Posted by: Noel Maurer | November 21, 2007 at 07:29 PM
Total cultural divide here: I didn't get it. Just didn't get it. What the hey? Fish and boats from a nation of fishers? Yes?
Doug enlightened me. (We don't to the fish-thing much in Germany. Or at all.) Yes, funny!
However, did you see the link from Dubai? ;-)
Posted by: claudia | November 21, 2007 at 07:55 PM
I'm still not getting it, apparently.
Posted by: Andrew Lambdin-Abraham | November 21, 2007 at 10:42 PM
"Wait ... you do have family in South Florida, right?"
Yeah, my mom's cousin Chi Chi Rodriguez (no relation to the other golfer) and family never left Miami. I get your point on the cigars.
Posted by: Bernard Guerrero | November 22, 2007 at 01:58 AM
Andrew: you're in Texas, right? Follow the cars.
Posted by: Noel Maurer | November 24, 2007 at 10:04 PM