[symple_heading style=”” title=”By Ken Stone” type=”h1″ font_size=”” text_align=”left” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ color=”undefined” icon_left=”” icon_right=””]

Secretive L.A. street artist Plastic Jesus says his golden statue of Kanye West in a crucifixion pose was almost a year in the making.

False Idol, a statue of Kanye West, appeared outdoors near Dolby Theatre for about five hours. Photo via Instagram
False Idol, a statue of Kanye West, appeared outdoors near Dolby Theatre for about five hours. Photo via Instagram
The 7-foot piece, called False Idol, was placed around 10 a.m. Wednesday at Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue near the site of the Oscars-hosting Dolby Theatre.

“I actually came up with the concept probably nearly a year ago,” Plastic Jesus told MyNewsLA.com.

The head was made by Ginger, a Las Vegas-based street artist famed his statues of a naked Donald Trump.

“I met him at the end of last year at an art auction,” PJ said. “I told him about the project, and he was excited to get involved. He donated his time and materials.”

PJ said the the crown of thorns is genuine “because the guy I bought it from on eBay said it comes from the Holy Land. It cost me $8.”

Why Yeezus as Jesus?

“There are a few celebrities in society with godlike status,” Plastic Jesus said in a phone interview. “We did it nearly a decade ago with Britney Spears. I don’t know why there are certain individuals we build up to that level, but there’s a few. And Kanye was the obvious choice.”

But the name False Idol is as much a criticism of us as of West, he said.

“We build these people into godlike figures,” PJ said. “As such, we’ve got incredibly high expectations of them. And when they show some signs of humanity or they fail or they err, we’re there to crucify them.”

Weighing 50 or 60 pounds, the hollow-resin statue with gold metallic paint took about six weeks to make. It will be shown in a Friday-Saturday exhibit called “Anesthesia: The Art of Oblivion” at Gibson Brands Sunset (formerly Tower Records) at 8801 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood.

Several have expressed an interest in buying it, Plastic Jesus said. He has no idea about the asking price.

“With art, the value is value to the buyer,” he said.

Any chance West would buy it?

“People say he’s very interested in imagery of himself and portrayals of himself,” Plastic Jesus said. “I’m certainly up for an offer from Kanye. I’d be quite flattered.”

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