Monument to Woody Allen
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{{Short description|Urban sculpture in Oviedo, Spain}}
File:Estatua_Woody_Allen_en_Oviedo_(cropped).jpg
The Monument to Woody Allen ({{langx|es|Monumento a Woody Allen}}) is a life-size bronze sculpture of the American actor, writer and director Woody Allen, situated in the Spanish city of Oviedo.
Background and description
The statue was designed by Vicente Santarúa and installed in 2003 by mayor Gabino de Lorenzo. El País remarked that "It looks like he is walking with a sad face and his mind somewhere else, not in Oviedo right now, although if you put yourself to his side and start a conversation with him it is so realistic that it looks as if he would answer you". Allen had travelled to the city in 2002 to accept a Prince of Asturias Award.{{cite news |last1=Granda |first1=Fernando |title=Woody Allen ya 'camina' por Oviedo |trans-title=Woody Allen now 'walking' around Oviedo |url=https://elpais.com/diario/2003/05/02/agenda/1051826404_850215.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=El País |date=1 May 2003 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312204018/https://elpais.com/diario/2003/05/02/agenda/1051826404_850215.html |url-status=live }} His 2008 film Vicky Cristina Barcelona was partially set there.
In front of the statue there is a plaque with Allen's description of Oviedo, reading in Spanish "Oviedo is a delicious city, exotic, beautiful, clean, pleasant, calm and pedestrianised, like it does not belong to this world, as if it didn't exist... Oviedo is like a fairy tale".{{cite news |last1=Vega |first1=David |title=Oviedo: descubre la ciudad a través de un recorrido por sus estatuas más conocidas |trans-title=Oviedo: discover the city through a trail around its best-known sculptures |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/estilo/2015-12-17/oviedo-descubre-la-ciudad-a-traves-de-un-recorrido-por-sus-estatuas-mas-conocidas_1120200/ |work=El Confidencial |access-date=12 March 2022 |date=17 December 2015 |language=Spanish |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312203907/https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/estilo/2015-12-17/oviedo-descubre-la-ciudad-a-traves-de-un-recorrido-por-sus-estatuas-mas-conocidas_1120200/ |url-status=live }}
Oviedo has been noted for its statues, with the city containing over a hundred outdoor sculptures.{{cite news |title=La memoria de las estatuas de bronce: las partes que más gusta tocar |trans-title=The memory of bronze statues: the best parts to touch |url=https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/oviedo/2019/12/11/ti-donde-gusta-tocar-estatuas/00031576053580897625940.htm |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=La Voz de Asturias |date=25 December 2019 |language=Spanish |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225130441/https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/oviedo/2019/12/11/ti-donde-gusta-tocar-estatuas/00031576053580897625940.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Arce |first1=A. |title=La Ruta de los Vinos regala una escultura de Urrusti a la ciudad|trans-title=Wines Route gifts a sculpture of Urrusti to the city|url=https://www.elcomercio.es/oviedo/ruta-vinos-regala-20210921000811-ntvo.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=El Comercio |date=21 September 2021 |language=Spanish |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006051220/https://www.elcomercio.es/oviedo/ruta-vinos-regala-20210921000811-ntvo.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Elies |first1=Miriam |title=Qué ver en Oviedo en 3 días |trans-title=What to see in three days in Oviedo |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/ocio/viajes/20171007/431809066459/36-horas-oviedo.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=La Vanguardia |date=7 October 2017 |language=Spanish |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312210543/https://www.lavanguardia.com/ocio/viajes/20171007/431809066459/36-horas-oviedo.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Conocer a fondo la "bella, limpia y tranquila" Oviedo en 48 horas |trans-title=Get to know "beautiful, clean and calm" Oviedo in 48 hours |url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1573670/0/oviedo/48/horas/ |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=20 minutos |date=29 August 2012 |language=Spanish |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312210553/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1573670/0/oviedo/48/horas/ |url-status=live }}
Vandalism and controversy
In its first year on public display, the statue was vandalised twice, including the glasses being broken in December 2003.{{cite news |title=Le rompen las gafas a Woody Allen |trans-title=Woody Allen's glasses broken |url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2003/12/08/actualidad/1070838001_850215.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=El País |date=8 December 2003 |language=Spanish |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312204021/https://elpais.com/cultura/2003/12/08/actualidad/1070838001_850215.html |url-status=live }} The city council said in 2008 that regular occurrences of vandalism meant that the glasses would only be repaired once a year.{{cite news |last1=Alonso |first1=Irene |title=A la escultura de Woody Allen le cambian las gafas una vez al año |trans-title=Woody Allen sculpture has its glasses changed once a year |url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/339372/0/arreglar/estatua/allen/ |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=20 minutos |date=25 January 2008 |language=Spanish |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312203907/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/339372/0/arreglar/estatua/allen/ |url-status=live }} Returning to the city in December 2005, Allen joked that he would speak to the mayor about the vandalism.{{cite news |title=Woody Allen tropieza consigo mismo en Oviedo |trans-title=Woody Allen bumps into his very self in Oviedo |url=https://www.abc.es/estilo/gente/abci-woody-allen-tropieza-consigo-mismo-oviedo-200512270300-1013276287944_noticia.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=ABC |date=27 December 2005 |language=Spanish |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320165528/https://www.abc.es/estilo/gente/abci-woody-allen-tropieza-consigo-mismo-oviedo-200512270300-1013276287944_noticia.html |url-status=live }}
In January 2018, the Asturias Feminist Organisation called for the statue to be removed, owing to the allegations of sexual abuse against its subject.{{cite news |last1=Erickson |first1=Amanda |title='An abuser and pervert': Women in Spain want a statue of Woody Allen removed |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/22/an-abuser-and-pervert-women-in-spain-want-a-statue-of-woody-allen-removed/ |access-date=12 March 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=22 January 2008 |archive-date=26 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226230421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/22/an-abuser-and-pervert-women-in-spain-want-a-statue-of-woody-allen-removed/ |url-status=live }} In his 2020 autobiography Apropos of Nothing, Allen remarked that a "hate-driven mob" might pull down the statue.{{cite news |last1=Vandenburgh |first1=Barbara |title=James Patterson 'hated' that Woody Allen's memoir was canceled. We hate it for other reasons |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/03/25/woody-allen-memoir-review-apropos-nothing-weak-score-settling/5076610002/ |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=USA Today |date=25 March 2020}}
Gallery
File:Woody_Allen_(4568013220).jpg|Plaque, with Allen's description of Oviedo
File:Woody Allen - statue.jpg|Detail of face, 2005. Note the partial destruction of the subject's glasses
References
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Category:Sculptures of men in Spain
Category:Bronze sculptures in Spain
Category:Outdoor sculptures in Spain
Category:Monuments and memorials in Oviedo