When I first viewed the statue of a defiant little girl in front of the bull on Wall Street I cheered because I felt she shared my vision of Wall Street; a bunch of over paid, arrogant ‘bull-lies’ and was glad to see someone standing up to them- symbolically. It turns out the bull's artist does not share my vision and is quite upset about Fearless Girl defiantly staring down his bull. He is so angry he is threatening a lawsuit to have her removed but a lawsuit has not been filed as of yet. Di Modica has said he will use the courts if needed to have the "Fearless Girl" statue removed.
Di Modica, who installed his Charging Bull sculpture without permission in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December 1987 said he views the bull as a symbol of freedom and love and feels that Fearless Girl has corrupted Charging Bull's artistic integrity by distorting the intent of his statue from "a symbol of prosperity and for strength" into a villain and "something negative". The statue of the little girl was initially only scheduled to be there for a week but was extended till the end of the year after it stoked a viral internet sensation. Many people found the visual of a small girl standing defiantly across from a symbol of Wall Street's excessive power meaningful and relatable.
Kristen Visbal was commissioned by SSgA to create Fearless Girl, a bronze sculpture depicting a girl looking at the well-known Charging Bull (or "Wall Street bull") statue. A plaque below the statue states, "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference".
I would like to reach out to Mr. DiModica and ask that he redirect his anger. In my view his anger should be directed at the executives who enter the offices of the buildings surrounding his bull. It may be that he was inspired by the resurrection of Wall Street in the 1980’s from a recession, however, that resurrection has turned into an oppression of the majority of Americans. What was once a symbol of prosperity and strength now stands as a symbol of the avarice of Wall Street investors who raped and pillaged the finances and savings of millions of Americans, most of whom have not fully recovered and some who may never.
I would like to ask Mr. DiModica to join us in resisting the continued plundering of the US by Wall Street, Corporate Executives and now Mr. Trump and his very own personal swamp. The enemy is not Fearless, nor Kristen Visbal- that’s not who is defiling your art. By forcing the city of New York to remove Fearless Girl you are inadvertently supporting the ‘villain(s)’ who are the ones that turned your sculpture into ‘something negative’. Consider that you were the one who spent $360,000 of your own money to create, cast, and install the sculpture. Former great sculptures were funded by their patrons. The Vietnam Memorial was paid for by the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund, Inc. a nonprofit organization authorized by Congress. Mount Rushmore was funded by Congress. But the very people you were trying to thank did not give you a dime. Have any financiers offered to pay your legal fees?
Hopefully, Fearless Girl will be allowed to continue to stare down the bull and perhaps one day you will view Fearless Girl as the symbol she is and that she is not the enemy of Charging Bull. Fearless Girl is me and she is you; facing the bull who has been exploited by Wall Street just as you and millions of Americans have been. Remember, Divide and Rule is the oldest strategy in the book.
Comments