Tokyo was host this Constitution Day weekend to the United Buddy Bears: six score life-size, radially arranged bear sculptures painted by artists from the country each one is supposed to represent. A traveling exhibition conceived by German artists in 2002, the Buddy Bears are intended to "[make] us understand one another better, trust each other more and live together more peacefully"; and for a rather naively symbolic exercise in geopolitical morality the Bears make for both a powerful statement of culture's craft and a sensational temporary landmark. From Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon to the Ukraine, each nation has an ursine stand-in. (The Russians resisted the temptation to make their final submission red.) As indicated by the photograph above, the Bears certainly appeal to young children — which can be applauded so long as tomorrow's world leaders don't exhibit mysterious predilections with foreign policies driven by fish, honey and annual hibernation cycles.
LITTLE MADRID: Switch species, replace thongs with a formidable pair of horns and we have Nagaoka's Japanese bull sumo.