This suggestion is about adding the option to display statues' art to the player similarly to the way engravings' art can be displayed. It would add a nifty new level to aesthetic design in fort mode, and perhaps make you do a double take in adventure mode now and then! Customizing statues to individual rooms and locations would be all the more rewarding, and easier to do, remember, and appreciate having done.
Maybe there could be a "Toggle Art Objects" option, as a designation and possibly init default option, similarly to how engravings work for those who would prefer their statues to remain majuscule omega symbols. This would be for the same reason Toggle Engra[v]ings exists as a designation. Alternatively, or in conjunction, there could be a [t]oggle Art option on each statue-object when loo[k]ing at the statue. That could work like forbidding, melting, dumping and hiding via the [d]esignations -> Set
[b]uilding/Item Properties interface and the stocks screen.
It occurred to me that the code for revealing statues might be more difficult than simply adding a new building/item property. A statue is an item that is used to create a building, not a static tile of terrain, so the direct analogy with toggling engravings could be flawed. Buildings currently inherit the color of one of their components, but I don't think there's yet any building that changes its symbol based on an item property, so that might need some new code.
If it is easy enough to implement, making it somewhat of a general command ("toggle art objects" instead of just "toggle statues," or possibly replacing toggle engra[v]ings) would leave it open to future player-added objects with dynamically generated art on them such as tapestries or paintings... when that function is put in the raws, which is a discussion for a different thread. Statues would be wonderfully more than enough for me.
The offhand comments in
this different thread from way back when was the closest I got to seeing this suggestion posted when I searched for "statues", so I think the idea is worth making a topic on. Anyone else like it?