

A gold-hued statue of Kanye West, posed as if he's being crucified, has been plopped down by the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The life-sized sculpture, titled "False Idol," is the work of artist Plastic Jesus, who's been known for creating Oscar-themed installations that take on some form of commentary.

In 2015, he made a sculpture of an Oscar statue on all fours, snorting cocaine off the ground. And in 2014, another Oscar statue was unveiled with a needle in its arm.

Plastic Jesus, speaking with LAist this afternoon about his intentions with this latest Oscars piece, said that the sculpture examines the public's obsession with celebrity. "Every year I try to create a piece that focuses on an area of the industry that gets overlooked, like drugs and alcohol, all the seedier side. This year, I'm focusing on how we think of stars and how we built them up to god-like characters. We have heightened expectations of them, and if they don't meet them, we crucify them," Plastic Jesus told LAist.

In this context, Kanye seems to be the perfect subject matter. Plastic Jesus said that he's had an idea for this project for some time, but Kanye's recent controversies made the piece especially apropos. "I felt it was appropriate this year. It was timely," said Plastic Jesus.

The statue was made in collaboration with Ginger, the Las Vegas-based artist who was responsible for those naked Trump statues. Ginger was tasked with creating the head for the Kanye sculpture, which Plastic Jesus notes is a particularly tricky undertaking: "It's fairly difficult to create a human head without color and tone and make it look real." The sculpture is made of resin with a gold metallic paint finish, so no, it's not actual gold.

One bit of noteworthy detail: the statue is wearing Yeezys (which you can buy at Walmart for a cool grand).

The statue was dropped off this morning around 10 a.m., and currently has a couple of "security guys" overseeing it. The "False Idol" won't be up for long, however. It's slated to leave its current spot sometime in the mid afternoon on Wednesday. From there, it'll be exhibited at "Anesthesia: The Art of Oblivion," an art show that runs on Saturday from 12p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibit, which will be free of admission, will be held at the Gibson Brands space at 8801 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.