“Nor did Florentine patrons commission statues of David because he looked good without his clothes. They commissioned statues of David because he was a martial hero who had felled an intimidating foe. They made him a beautiful nude to emphasize his heroism, not to disguise his bloody deed. (Donatello’s David has his boot triumphantly on Goliath’s severed head.) Michelangelo’s giant was meant as an inspiration to locals and a warning to would-be invaders. He wasn’t an underwear model. He was a Minuteman. Putting a gun in his hand may look weird, but it’s a lot truer to his original meaning than a souvenir apron.” – Virginia Postrel in Micelangelo’s David Has a Right to Bear Arms [at bloombergview.com]
[h/t instapundit.com]
And he took out a heavily armored opponent with a perfect head shot.
Hot brass and naked ass. Ouch. No ear pro either. At least trigger and muzzle discipline are decent.
It is amazing that we love our Hero tales/sagas but some people think the average, everyday Joe should not be able to own weapons. The duplicity is crazy.
All true, but all irrelevant. People have been using famous works of art in the service of crass commercialism for years. This is about “guns are evil,” not “desecration of art.”
Agreed, except I also think it’s totally relevant. If nothing else, it further proves the point that the objection to this is based on nothing more than a specific dislike of firearms.
Phallic much?
He was a little under equipped in his originol armament.
Hey, it maybe short, but at least it’s thin…
Apparently the Greeks preferred it that way. There were a lot of weird things about the Greeks that don’t seem to make it into high school history textbooks.
Shouldn’t he have something more along the lines of a single-shot .22LR?
I mean, this IS David, right?
Don’t mind me, I’m just a naked guy trying to cover my junk with this thumb-hole stock.
“They made him a beautiful nude to emphasize his heroism, not to disguise his bloody deed.”
Nudity, which was common during Renaissance era artwork, was used to emphasize the beauty of God’s design in the form of man, believed to be created in his own imagine. This is why nudity was very common in the artwork of time, it’s celebrating God’s creation.
They missed the mark a little bit…
And, who said said Art Appreciation is a worthless elective.
Truly a drop the mike and a round of applause quote.
Remember David taught the Biblical directive (Commandment 614), “Never bring a knife to a gunfight!”
Which is a corollary of the zeroeth commandment: Don’t be an idiot.
Last I recall he grabbed five stones making his sling a high capacity assault sling.
But he only loaded one. A NY gun grabber’s dream….
The sling was — quite literally — the rifle of the day.
http://slinging.org/ — a fascinating site on a now obscure — but highly practical set of skills…
The sling — while far from firearm class — is still not too shabby in ballistic terms — 30-31 m/s (~100 fps) for projectiles of 80-100g (1200-1500 gr) — or about 1/10th the energy of a 230gr. 800 fps 45ACP.
With a braided rope….
some say the Roman gladius was the assault rifle of the era…easily mass produced multipurpose weapon deadly in the hands of trained users…both military and civilian ( gladiators)
http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-weapons/gladius.htm
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_military_personal_equipment
Romans used lead shot in their slings. Slightly egg shaped and from the descriptions they created horrific musket ball like injuries. Depending on range and skill of the slingers they could penetrate sheilds and armor.
Humans are designed to use projectile weapons. We are the only ape capable of doing an overhand throw. The two primary primitive weapons which allowed humans to conquer the world are the spear and the stone. Originally, spears and stones were thrown bare-handed, but then two very simple tools, the spear-thrower and the sling, were created to multiply the leverage.
The mightiest of beasts can be killed via the spear with a spear thrower. And stones, clay or lead balls, etc…could create devastating wounds from the force and speed they could be slung with a sling. Ancient hunters it is believed would work in teams, where one group would sling ammunition at the eyes of say a mammoth, while another would then go in to throw the spear for the kill.
What if the Israeli’s suddenly decided they were offended by this rendition of their cultural hero and stomped and cried demanding they demolish it? “Tradition and history, you say? Is that like firearms in the US?”
Did anyone else notice this was posted on Bloombergview.com?
Between this and the article on huffpo this weekend, I’m starting to become interested…
Admiral Ackbar in 3….2….1….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4qzPbcFiA
Where does he keep his spare ammo???
He might have two stones in that sack there…
If you look carefully you’ll notice that without the .50BMG David is still armed. David has a sling slung over his left shoulder.
A sword is kinda like a knife, isn’t it?
Apparently, Goliath, must have have been slower than average covering the 21 feet.
And David was carrying Condition 3.
The first sentence should be corrected. The quote is “Nor did Florentine patrons commission statues of David because he looked good without his clothes.” Your truncation alters the meaning significantly.
You’re right. Not sure why it was truncated. Text amended.
In these modern times, he likes to be called “Dave.”
Doesn’t make it any less tacky.
Heavy recoil. It could blow your arms off, oh wrong statue.
Would not shoot a 50BMG naked!!!!!!!
OK photo shop people. lets see other works of art with guns!
I’d shoot a .50 naked, I’d do a lot of things naked
Don’t let the antis see this it will feed their “compensating for something ” drivel.
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