A granite statue that sits outside of a theater in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was painted by an unknown person to look like a Poké Ball.
While it might be expected that city officials would frown upon such a strange act of vandalism, the mayor of Yekaterinburg is said to have responded to the Poké Ball statue by simply saying "I do not see anything wrong with that."
However, it's possible that his lack of surprise is due to the fact that the statue was previously changed to look like other pop culture phenomenons before, such as Angry Bird. As Buzzfeed reports, the transformed monument follows claims from the Russian Orthodox Church that the Pokémon Go obsession is psychologically damaging to youth as well as other push backs against the release of the game in the country.
Anime-Transformed Monuments
A Spherical Statue in Russia Was Painted to Look Like a Huge Poké Ball
Trend Themes
1. Pop Culture Monuments - Creating new designs on historic statues and monuments to incorporate recent trends.
2. Augmented Reality Art - Integrating digital art within physical spaces to offer immersive experiences to viewers.
3. Interactive Art Installations - Transforming mundane public spaces into interactive art installations to promote community engagement.
Industry Implications
1. Tourism - Innovating ways to attract visitors through unique and visually appealing attractions such as transformed monuments.
2. Advertising - Using public spaces to create augmented reality experiences to promote products and brands.
3. Art - Combining technology and art to create interactive installations that disrupt traditional art-viewing experiences.