Giant Shoe Sculpture In Iraq

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I can't wait to read what the accompanying poem says.

Statue of giant shoe honors attack on Bush

Thursday, January 29, 2009 2:33 PM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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The giant shoe in Tikrit, Iraq

BAGHDAD -- When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at then-President George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference, the attack spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world.

Now, it's inspired a work of art.

A sofa-sized shoe statue was formally unveiled to the public today in Tikrit, the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described his fiberglass-and-copper work as a homage to the pride of the Iraqi people.

The statue also has inscribed a poem honoring Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist. Al-Zeidi was charged with assaulting a foreign leader, but the trial was postponed after his lawyer sought to reduce the charges.