As far as public sculpture goes, you’d be strugglin’ to find any works as widely supported as Fearless Girl. The defiant bronze statue, placed opposite Wall Street’s Charging Bull earlier this year, was hailed as an empowering symbol of gender equality in the decidedly-blokey world of finance.
One person ain’t chuffed about it, though: Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor of the original Charging Bull, who claims the addition of the girl has fundamentally altered his work.
He’s lawyered up, too. Representatives for Modica, who says his 1989 sculpture is a genuine celebration of the economy’s resistance following some severe stock market crashes, reckon “Charging Bull no longer carries a positive, optimistic message,” and that it’s “been transformed into a negative force and a threat.”
Slate writer Christina Cauterucci summarised the issue, adding “now, charging toward a tiny human, [the bull is] a stand-in for the gendered forces that work against women’s success in the workplace.” That’s a pretty far cry from what Di Modica’s work originally represented.
Di Modica also copyrighted his work, and he thinks its newfound opponent co-opts and infringes upon it. He’s also concerned about the artwork’s permit; while it was only intended to stay up for a week, mayor Bill de Blasio okayed it to stay until early 2018.
His lawyers say they’re down to sort this one out with New York City and the firm which installed Fearless Girl outside of court, but they’re not dismissing the possibility of further legal action. No bull.
Source: The New York Times.
Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty.
