I came across this photo of the Genghis Khan memorial in Mongolia, about 30 miles outside the capital city of  Ulan Bator.  I’ve always been a sucker for statues of epic proportion and I had never heard of this particular one.  It’s a pretty amazing  image, with Genghis astride his sturdy horse atop a museum,  and one can only wonder how it must appear in person in the vast open air of that Mongolian space.
I always am inspired when I see memorials such as this Genghis Khan statue.  It makes me want to work on something epic in size or at least push the spirit of my  work even harder forward, to think in a bigger way.  Grander in thought.  Perhaps that is the purpose of such memorials, to expand our horizons and broaden our vision.  I know that when I think of some of the other monuments of this proportion, such as the  World War II war memorial featuring a sword-wielding Mother Russia near Stalingrad or the Spring Temple Buddha in China (both shown  below),  that is the feeling that comes to mind.  They push me beyond the smallness of  my inner self where  I often allow myself to retreat in my work.  And that is exciting.
So, thanks for the inspiration, Genghis Khan. Â And you too, Mother Russia and Buddha. Â I’ll try to be a bigger person.
Redtree Times 
That is one impressive statue. They must still be partial to the memory of Genghis in Mongolia because eleswhere he gets a bit of a bad press as something of a mass murderer. I like the Buddha one best.
Yeah, I was going to comment on how ironic it was to have such a grand memorial to someone who is remembered by much of the world as a ruthless killer but I could’t fault the Mongolian people for some nationalistic pride.
crazy horse in south dakota is awesome, too. still 50 years underway and halfway done tho.
Yes, I should have mentioned that– it is awesome, as you say.
On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 5:00 PM, Redtree Times
Reblogged this on rendisugeha and commented:
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There is something about “big” that’s compelling. Your selections a little classier than the group I’ve been sitting on for a blog entry – Big Tex, the Jolly Green Giant, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox…
We takes our inspiration where we finds it! 😉
I don’t know, that’s a pretty classy bunch you’ve got there. Besides pure respect, I have a somewhat personal connection to Paul Bunyan. My grandfather was pioneer lumberman in the Adirondacks and one of the men he employed over the years was a character named *Atwell Martin*, called the Hermit of North Creek, who is recalled in many Adirondack stories and tall tales, including one where Paul Bunyan, having heard the tales of Martin’s exploits, traveled east to visit him. They got along famously at first but ultimately ended up in a fight where trees were upended and used as clubs and the great Paul Bunyan ends up slain. His body was supposedly buried in the headwaters of the *Black River*, at the dam at North Lake.
On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 9:34 AM, Redtree Times