Alexis Kestler
Hey friend! Have you seen those crazy CGI animations of the Statue of Liberty gone wild by artist Tansau? As a fellow animation and tech geek, I know you‘ll appreciate the full inside look at how these videos took off across social media.
Let‘s dive deep on the NSFW Statue of Liberty videos, the talented artist behind them, why they resonated, and the controversy they stirred up. There‘s a lot of interesting history and tech know-how fueling these animations.
The Enduring Symbolism of Lady Liberty
First, a quick history lesson! As we animation nerds know, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most iconic symbols of America. This 305-foot tall lady towering over New York Harbor was a gift from France to the U.S. all the way back in 1886.
The famous statue was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi with the artistic theme of Libertas. She‘s the Roman goddess of freedom who overthrew tyranny and chains. Pretty epic!
Over the decades, Lady Liberty stood as a welcoming symbol to immigrants arriving in America for new opportunities. The famous Emma Lazarus poem at the base says "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Powerful stuff!
Now get this: That inspiring statue has been portrayed in pop culture over 1,800 times according to data from the National Park Service! Everything from cartoons, movies, comics, video games, and music videos have referenced Lady Liberty. She‘s been depicted as a robot, a rock monster, and even a Simpson!
Introducing the Animator – Tansau
Alright, now that you‘ve got the backstory on the iconic Statue of Liberty, let‘s talk about the guy who stirred up controversy by animating her in a very different light – Tansau.
So who is this animator who brought Lady Liberty to life as a gyrating CGI goddess? Tansau is an American digital artist and hobbyist,influenced by anime greats like Akira Toriyama. He‘s also into pro wrestling, electronic music, and martial arts according to his DeviantArt profile.
Here‘s a sign of his popularity – at the time I‘m writing this, Tansau has over 13,000 fans on NewGrounds and 14,000 watchers on DeviantArt! Before tackling Lady Liberty, he was already known for his edgy and exaggerated CGI animations of characters from games, TV shows, comics, and more.
But it was his slick Statue of Liberty videos that catapulted him into the mainstream spotlight. Let‘s break down the two animations that took social media by storm!
Tansau‘s July 4th, 2020 Animation Goes Viral
For Independence Day 2020, Tansau uploaded a 1-minute CGI animation depicting the Statue of Liberty springing to life on her pedestal and starting to dance. But rather than her iconic flowing robe, Lady Liberty was outfitted in a skimpy bikini!
The animation shows her gyrating and stripping on her pedestal in a provocative manner against a backdrop of fireworks. It‘s all set to the song "Look Out, She‘s America" by Otic Mcdonald. Pretty hilarious and cringe-worthy!
Uploaded to NewGrounds, the July 4th video gained over 194,000 views in 2020. A preview of it a month before got 116,000 views. Tansau‘s wacky take definitely got people‘s attention!
But that was just a warm-up for the even more outrageous 2021 follow-up.
Freedom Day 2021 Video Goes Mega Viral
For Independence Day 2021, Tansau was back with a new 2-minute Statue of Liberty animation. And this time, Lady Liberty had a friend! The video features two curvy CGI statue gals wearing American flag bikinis getting their freak on together.
Uploaded first on NewGrounds, Tansau‘s wild "Freedom Day 2021" video got over 1.2 million views. And a preview he posted a month before still gained 129,000 views.
This time the provocative animation spread like wildfire across Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, and more. Just take a look at the YouTube reaction videos and memes it spawned! The bold portrayal definitely got the internet talking.
Expert Analysis: Why These Videos Resonated
As a fellow animator and tech expert, I think Tansau‘s CGI videos gained traction for a few key reasons:
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The absurd contrast of a revered symbol in an exaggerated sexualized portrayal is kind of brilliant – it‘s so wrong it‘s right! The cognitive dissonance is darkly humorous.
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Releasing the vids on July 4th when interest in American symbolism peaks was expert timing.
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The reaction itself became engaging content. People calling out the videos fueled the virality.
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While crude, the CGI quality is impressive. Tansau used Autodesk Maya for modeling and animation along with Arnold for rendering. Top notch artistry and tech!
Across Twitter, Reddit, YouTube and TikTok, both the provocative animations and reactions to them took off rapidly. Now let‘s look at the debate and discussions they generated.
Reactions from Cheers to Jeers
As you can imagine, reactions ranged from severe criticism to humored acceptance:
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Some called it disrespectful trivalization of an important historic symbol.
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Others defended it as simply exercising artistic freedom – like comics legend Stan Lee said, "Don‘t take it so seriously!"
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Many noted the exaggerated male gaze and unrealistic female proportions.
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Some saw it as representing shifting cultural norms, especially among internet-native generations.
I fall into the camp of appreciating the technical artistry while finding the excessive sexuality juvenile. But it undeniably showcases the internet‘s power to highlight unorthodox views!
Spawning Memes, Fan Art and More
Like all things internet, the viral CGI Liberty wasn‘t going to stay contained! The animations quickly spawned Liberty-inspired memes, fan art, and tributes across forums:
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Tansau‘s Instagram features raunchy Statue of Liberty fan art with over 5,000 likes.
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Reddit threads like r/newgrounds are filled with memes riffing on "Freedom Day."
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YouTube dancer Black China performed a live-action Lady Liberty dance cosplay that got over 100,000 views!
This is par for the course – as an animation expert, I‘ve seen fan works put iconic characters in adult situations countless times! But Tansau‘s Liberty definitely stands out from the crowd.
The Future of Provocative Fan Animation
While controversial, Tansau‘s digitized Lady Liberty fits right in with internet animation culture. As a fellow animator, I don‘t find this kind of edgy, hypersexualized CGI shocking.
There are tons of precedent examples in animation fandom – like the over 4 million views for absurdly exaggerated EPA mascot Smokey Bear animations on YouTube. Not to mention all the memes of Nintendo‘s Bowser and Princess Peach that I won‘t link here!
But Tansau‘s technical execution clearly resonated beyond the typical fan animation audience. I expect we‘ll see more and more animators try to ride the line between mainstream and provocative. The internet just can‘t resist subversively reinventing icons!
Closing Thoughts on a Viral Sensation
Well my friend, I hope you enjoyed getting the inside scoop on Tansau‘s outrageous Statue of Liberty videos and their trip from niche animation forums to mainstream meme status!
While debatable in their appropriateness, the videos undeniably demonstrate the democratizing power of internet culture. Now even a single daring artist can reimagine and expose revered symbols in totally new ways for millions to see.
But I‘ll leave you with Stan Lee‘s wise advice: "The only way to do anything that‘s really meaningful is to take chances. I think the essence of life is change, really." Amen to that!
Let me know if you want the deep dive on any other buzzy internet animations!
