Joshua Keating of Foreign Policy magazine has a slideshow of what he considers to be the ugliest monumental statues in public display in the world. Pictured above is one of Tsar Peter I (the Great) of Russia, known for building that country's first navy:
Just because communism ended doesn't mean that Russia has stopped building grotesque, propagandistic statues. The master of the form is Georgian-born artist Zurab Tsereteli, best known for the garish 315-foot maritime statue of Peter the Great looming over the Moskva River. The statue was commissioned by Tsereteli's frequent booster, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, and has fast become a popular tourist attraction, if not exactly for the reasons its planners hoped.
Link via Hell in a Handbasket | Photo: flickr user Effervescing Elephant, used under Creative Commons license
http://fotovoto.esradio.fm/top10.php
In Spain.
The rest were just... ostentatious I guess is a good word.
The link in the article was more like, 11 Statues Built for Ridiculous Reasons.
I even liked a couple of 'em.
Clients: It needs more. Maybe put a giant world explorer on the ship. And stuff beneath the waves.
Sculptor: uh ... okay.
(later)
Sculptor: So I did this statue for you! I added the stuff and the giant man. I hope you ... like ... it.
Clients: The waves need to be more scrolly and add more flags. Also, make his chest bigger.
(later)
Sculptor: Okay, so here it is.
Client: Wow! That's great!
Sculptor: Do you have my paycheck? Please don't put my name on that thing.
I actually like the one pictured here. It's interesting.