Angelina Jolie in wax
LOS ANGELES — President Barack Obama stands fully formed in wax towards the exit of the entertaining, kitschy tourist trap that is the Hollywood Wax Museum. Celebrity gazing is a thoroughly American tradition, and as such, the Hollywood Wax Museum has three other locations in places arguably more patriotic than LA: Branson, Missouri; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Pigeon Force, Tennessee. Another copy of Obama — one crafted from butter — appeared on the streets of downtown Chicago in 2012, at the time of the President’s reelection, as part of art duo Industry of the Ordinary’s mid-career survey Sic Transit Gloria Mundi: Industry of the Ordinary. Wheeled down the street in a freezer, Obama was able to greet no one; he was deposited behind a glass door at the Chicago Cultural Center, where his carved gaze looked off into the distance. At the Hollywood Wax Museum, his hand is permanently stuck out to all who walk by. For those brave or stupid enough not to care about the security cameras, an opportunity to touch the president’s waxy hand presents itself, if only for a brief surveilled moment.
Read the full story: http://hyperallergic.com/107550/waxing-and-waning-with-the-stars-in-hollywood/
