L-Way Central grad’s Batman snow sculpture a hit at ISU
March 4, 2013 7:00PM
In this Feb. 28, 2013 photo, Anthony LaGiglia, an Illinois State University art major from Frankfort, Ill., poses with the snow sculpture of Batman he created on the ISU quadrangle in Normal, Ill. LaGiglia used a plastic dining hall knife to help make the statue. (AP Photo/The Pantagraph, Steve Smedley)
Updated: April 6, 2013 6:29AM
NORMAL, Ill. — Anthony La Giglia did more after a recent winter storm than just sculpt a Batman out of snow.
The Lincoln-Way Central High School graduate also apparently carved out quite a reputation for himself.
The Illinois State University student, an art major, told The Pantagraph that he used a plastic dining hall knife when he made a sculpture of Batman out of snow near Hovey Hall one night after a late February snowfall.
La Giglia, 21, a junior, told The Pantagraph he “just did it for fun.”
But the Batman has gotten quite the reaction. La Giglia’s fellow students have been using their cell phones to record the sculpture, and others are posing for pictures with it.
“It went completely viral. I can’t even believe it,” La Giglia posted on his Facebook page. “Hundreds of people took pictures of/with it including a little boy who got to see a sculpture of his favorite superhero, I was interviewed three times, and the university itself published an article about me and posted pics on its Facebook page.”
La Giglia told the Pantagraph he was inspired by a couple of other snow sculptures that popped up around the Center for Visual Arts, and that he never had sculpted from snow before.
His girlfriend, Melissa Haberstroh, a freshman French education major, helped him lift and pack the snow, according to The Pantagraph.
“I’m a huge Batman fan,” La Giglia told the Bloomington-Normal-based newspaper, adding he had no trouble sculpting the figure from memory. “I’ve seen all the movies and play the video games. It’s difficult to get the image out of my head.”
Contributing: AP, staff reports
