AIBU in thinking living statue people are wasting their lives?

[TiggyD]

They probably think what they're doing is art. I dare say they wander round beforehand trying to get into character or some such bollocks, but all they do is stand still and hope people look at them. Well I don't like them. Can you imagine meeting one at a party?
Worthwhile human: "What do you do?"
Worthless entity: "I stand very still. The other day I stood very still for 4 hours. The stories I could tell you about standing still...Where are you going?! Come back!!!"
They're sad attention seeking people with no skills.

Ignore them!

I do like the ones on the South Bank that balance. I have spent many hours trying to figure out where they've threaded the iron bar through.

Isn't there a Dom Joly skit where he nicks their money and legs it?

Count me in.

I also hate all Covent Gardenesque street theatre.

"And the living statues who are also levitating on a stick (which I don't understand) - they're magic. They're not wasting their lives."

They're strapped into a harness and there's a big metal bar holding them up. Did you think it was magic?

They're just wasting their lives at a slightly higher altitude than the others.

Why are they wasting their lives any more than the rest of us? I feel the average street entertainer has a great deal more dignity than the Kim Kardashians of this world.

I wonder what their work Christmas 'do' consists of ...

Yeah, Minty, but everything's better that Kim Kardashian isn't it? I mean, fleas are better than Kim Kardashian.

member - they recreate the Nativity and stand very still as a shepherd or a donkey for about 5 hours. If they're feeling crazy they'll go for 6 hours. Then they go home, all partied out.

I never thought they were luvvies, who would bother to get into character.

I think of them like buskers who can't actually play anything

Not just street entertainers Minty, the statue ones who do nothing.

The jugglers on unicycles are fine. The musicians on unicycles are perfectly acceptable, apart from bagpipists. Magicians on unicycles are OK too. It the statues. We need to enlist the help of Boris. He'll help rid he street from this menace!

Everyone is different. People enjoy different things. What works for you wont work for them I assume.

I think they're weird. And cold.

My favourite ever busker is my music teacher from junior school. He's retired now and busks just because he loves much so much. Fantastic man.

*loves music so much...

I find the whole thing fascinating. Rude thread

How is it fascinating?

It's watching something on pause. Why not just take a photo and you can look at it for several hours at your convenience.

Or just look at a normal statue.

If they were doing Blink style weeping angels it might be moderately less tedious I suppose.

Especially if they preyed on the chuggers.

It is pointless. But google tells me there is money in it - I think we should have a MN meet up here. We can all stand around competing for £3k :)

www.thebigartshow.co.uk/living-statue-competition/

TiggyD bagpipists made me laugh, although on the whole I'd take living statues over bagpipists.

Amanda Palmer as a living statue would be preferable to Amanda Palmer doing any of the other things she does.

I think whilst they are standing there watching the world go by, they are thinking look at those stupid cunts.

We could strike up the pose in the MN logo

Although Daily Mail journalists and Amanda Holden might come and pelt us with tomatoes.

They creep me out. I get terrified if I have to walk past one as I know its likely to move and I hate been scared.

Probably the same people who tour round the festivals in summer doing performance art type stuff, there was a documentary on Glastonbury over the summer that went to the less well known parts, it was full of people I could imagine doing the living statue thing during the off season.
Best one I ever saw was a guy in Manchester eating his sandwich one bite at a time in a robotic type of way, he was great, he had brilliant sleight of hand and would produce lollipops for watching children out of nowhere.

I knew a bloke who did it for a while and made about £400 a day.
Better than some shit jobs out there.

so would it be better if they were cold calling from some desperate office for minimum wage?

I only like one man who does this on princess st every year in Edinburgh ,He stands on a stereo speaker and when someone chucks money in he does a great robotic dance think he has a few routines.
I remember when I was young he did it even then and he winded himself down for a peck on the cheek.
I reckon these people will have other jobs as it's seasonal imo.

All the other ones are dotted about the royal mile and I cba with them
Dressed up as Romans and such like.
Just walk on by they won't try and follow you at least.