Human Statue Prank

I’m sure you have seen the funny videos showing people who are walking down the sidewalk suddenly being frightened by what they thought was a statue, only to find out that it is human, and reaching out to accost them. The statue doesn’t literally mean them harm, but in their surprise, they don’t realize that. All they see in a hand reaching out at them, and they scream, drop to the ground, or run to escape the attacker. Of course, their friends can’t stop laughing at the unfortunate victim of the Human Statue Prank. My first thought at watching these videos is that the human statue is an actor, and it likely that my assumption is correct, but while those videos may have an actor as a human statue, that “job” is actually a real one that is used quite often and pays pretty well.

Posing as a live mannequin, adorned in paint or clothing, can be surprisingly lucrative, earning $60–$100 per hour for simply standing perfectly still. That might seem like an easy job, but it seems to me that standing perfectly still for hours on end would be…much more difficult that we might think. A human statue, or living statue, is typically a performer who poses as a statue or mannequin, often using realistic, statue-like makeup. The term can also describe art installations made by artists using live people, or other creative works by performing artists.

Contemporary performances often take the form of street busking but can also appear at paid events. A living statue act involves an artist standing completely still, occasionally moving to create a comic or surprising moment. These “human statues” are typically painted from head to toe, often in gold or silver. Australian artist Andrew Baines is known for incorporating living people into his art to convey social messages. Phil Genoux was among the earliest to perform as a living statue on the streets, starting in London in 1988, and was featured in what may have been the first current affairs TV coverage of such a performance, aired in Amsterdam in 1989.

Since 1996, the annual World Statues Festival has taken place in Arnhem, Netherlands, originally called “Rijnfestijn” and now known as World Living Statues and Statues by Night. In 2000, the University of Business and Social Sciences in Buenos Aires, Argentina began hosting the National Contest of Living Statues. Since 2011, the Masca Theatre in Bucharest, Romania has organized the International Festival of Living Statues, focusing on developing the art form through research. The first fully dedicated Living Statues Festival was held in Espinho, Portugal, in 1997. Who knew that being a human statue could actually be a moneymaker?