So just a few things from NYC 'cause nothing says forehead-slapping fun like heavy metal issues of all sorts except the musical kind. Here are two - one bronze and the other lead:
"Charging Bull" v. "Fearless Girl" Controversy:
So you all should know this iconic bronze scupture - "The Charging Bull". It was financed by artist by Arturo Di Mondica and placed in lower Manhattan in 1989 as a gift to NYC. Di Modica spent some $360,000 to create, cast, and install the sculpture following the 1987 stock market crash as a symbol of the "strength and power of the American people"
Then this happened.
On March 7, 2017, the night before International Women's Day, another bronze sculpture, "Fearless Girl", was placed directly in front of "The Charging Bull". The statue was designed by Kristen Visbal and commissioned by State Street Global Advisers (SSgA) as part of a marketing campaign for their gender-diverse index fund. "Fearless Girl" was placed facing the bull, and seems to be staring it down. The new little scupture only had a permit to remain for 8 days, but wait, there's more.
At first it offended those inclined to march because it infantalized women as a little girl. It was a cynical, marketing campaign for a reviled Wall Street...well, Wall Street!!! But then, once these same marchers realized that it could coopted the little girl as a strong symbol of their anti-patriarchy-as-large-bronze-bull marketing campaign of their own, then well, it became symbol of bronze womanhood! And never to miss an opportunity to not do the work of the real issues in the city, Mayor Deblasio decided to extend the permit for 11 months.
Well, that set off the bull artist Di Modica who owns and fully funded the original "Charging Bull". He is claiming that his artistic vision is being ruined. He has a point. His sculpture has been an icon since it was placed in 1989. that I can say is surrounded 24/7/365 with tourists taking photos. And there are many other places in the city and even nearby.
But then...
Remember when Sen. Liz Warren hated Wall Street? Well, not anymore now that our little girl has moved in...
And then there's this:
I saw this PSA advert from NYC Environmental Protection Department on the subway today. Now, the irony is that it was just reported that, much like Detroit, the water in the water fountains in some of our public schools is teeming with...lead. Maybe that's why our children's test scores are so bad.
I don't mean make light of this issue. It is really a very serious problem that may also be in pipes in other places like the pipes in my own 1920's apartment building. Lead in paint that was in our public schools was litigated for years. But the real issue is that it seems that the water testing reports may have been a little bit manipulated just a bit so that it appeared there was no problem. Our Mayor who is up for reelection this year is unmoved.
So the water that comes into the city is the best (it really is!), but the stuff that comes out of the water fountains may not be.
So here we are...
"Charging Bull" v. "Fearless Girl" Controversy:
So you all should know this iconic bronze scupture - "The Charging Bull". It was financed by artist by Arturo Di Mondica and placed in lower Manhattan in 1989 as a gift to NYC. Di Modica spent some $360,000 to create, cast, and install the sculpture following the 1987 stock market crash as a symbol of the "strength and power of the American people"
Then this happened.
At first it offended those inclined to march because it infantalized women as a little girl. It was a cynical, marketing campaign for a reviled Wall Street...well, Wall Street!!! But then, once these same marchers realized that it could coopted the little girl as a strong symbol of their anti-patriarchy-as-large-bronze-bull marketing campaign of their own, then well, it became symbol of bronze womanhood! And never to miss an opportunity to not do the work of the real issues in the city, Mayor Deblasio decided to extend the permit for 11 months.
Well, that set off the bull artist Di Modica who owns and fully funded the original "Charging Bull". He is claiming that his artistic vision is being ruined. He has a point. His sculpture has been an icon since it was placed in 1989. that I can say is surrounded 24/7/365 with tourists taking photos. And there are many other places in the city and even nearby.
But then...
Remember when Sen. Liz Warren hated Wall Street? Well, not anymore now that our little girl has moved in...
And then there's this:
I don't mean make light of this issue. It is really a very serious problem that may also be in pipes in other places like the pipes in my own 1920's apartment building. Lead in paint that was in our public schools was litigated for years. But the real issue is that it seems that the water testing reports may have been a little bit manipulated just a bit so that it appeared there was no problem. Our Mayor who is up for reelection this year is unmoved.
So the water that comes into the city is the best (it really is!), but the stuff that comes out of the water fountains may not be.
So here we are...
Bev, He actually has a great point. They've turned his bull from a positive symbol into a villain. He should take it back and leave the other one as the lost little girl.
ReplyDeleteAs for Warren, she's a fool. Like all liberals, she's all about appearance over substance.
ReplyDeleteOn your water problems, if you want it fixed, just point out that it's racist that NYC water is full of lead. How? How dare you ask! Just get me clean water! :)
I agree, Di Mondica should find a new home for his statue. I'm sure he won't have any trouble.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a brave little girl that other statue is! She's not afraid of a growing and optimistic market!
Tryanmax - I think that the little girl's powerful message would be diminished without the bull...there's a double entendre there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd if she's so "Girl Power!!!"-y, they should put her in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic just to show those evil Pro-Lifers a thing or two!
If ya'll remember the Crash of 1987 actually started on a Friday..it was bad...everyone was crazy as Hell over the weekend and on Monday morning...it went to Hell in a hand-basket..I was a commodity broker for Dean Witter Reynolds...myself and a buddy showed up for work in our suits wearing flak vests and military helmets that were stenciled "Urban Broker" across the front...the boss was not happy..however, when the market is falling like that all you can do is hang on and have cash ready for when you hit bottom...sometimes I miss that job, and the chain smoking, hard drinking and long days that accompanied it,,,I had my moments.
ReplyDeleteCritch - I remember that day. I was working for non-profit arts group in their development office. One of our big donors was H. Ross Perot and everyone's hair was on fire because Perot and other big $$$ donors lost a large amount of money. Perot lost over $1billion or something like that. But in true Perot form, he wasn't the least bit effected. He said that it was only on paper anyway, it's not like it was in a vault in his house (a very modest house, I might add). Yeah, fun times...
ReplyDeleteBtw, the whole flack jacket/helmet things...now THAT'S funny!
Andrew - I agree about what is going to happen with th water situation. The best way to fix it is to claim "racism" or "It'll hurt the poor the most!". The latest today is that Deblasio want's to raise the NYC tax of cigarettes from $10.50 to $13per pack. That will make the real cost per pack go from $14 to $17 per pack average. And guess which demographic smokes the most? And guess where cigarettes are cheaper...New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island and anywhere upstate etc. I am not opposed to it, but it seems kind of stupid to harm mostly poor people in NYC. Does he really think it's gooing to get them to stop?
ReplyDeleteThat was the same reasoning our City Council used to not pass a 10 cent plastic bag charge. It disproportionately harms the poor.
NY Governor Cuomo made $783,000.00 from a book that only sold 3200 copies? That's probably grounds for an investigation of some sort...that's better than Hillary's commodity trading...
ReplyDeleteWell, considering he is the greatest impediment to ethics reform in our state government, it is highly unlikely there will be any investigation. Our only hope was Preet Bharara and he's gone. DeBlasio is off the hook too for his many ethical breaches.
ReplyDeleteYa know... I'm getting really sick of the anti-Trump crap. I can't turn on the web without seeing some new article: "Trump ____ causes backlash."
ReplyDeleteThis is all #fakeoutrage and I am done. I truly have become incapable of caring what they are whining about or believing it.
The latest, btw, involves Trump having used his influence to get a woman free from prison in Egypt. There would seem to be no possible way to spin this against Trump, but that would wrong. Never underestimate the truly fucked up. They are upset about the "production value" of the clip released by the White House. Fuck. Off.
Andrew - I feel your pain. I came to that place around the inauguration. The good news is for every "fake news" article/tweet berating Trump for some minor issue, there is a lot of embarrassing rake-stepping by the detractors. One of the latest examples - NE Patriot team & families were honored at the WH. A NYT reporter crowed=by-tweet that when Obama did that there were tons more people participating - See, nobody wants to be seen with Trump!...>. Patriots front office immediately responded that he was wrong...photos were posted. The reporter finally posted a mea culpa which is refreshing, btw.
ReplyDeleteThen there was the Sarah Palin/Ted Nugent/Kid Rock visit in the Oval Office. New Media tweets "Nothing worse has ever been seen in the Oval Office. HOw Disgusting!!! <> Overwhelmingly the response "Uh, Bill Clinton's cigar" and the like. Then there was some kerfuffle about an unseemly photo in front of FL Hillary Clinton painting...just posing. <> Immediately someone posted photos of some of several of Obama's guests shooting the finger at GWB photo over and over.
It's really tedious. It's sad that so many genuinely want to see him fail/arrested/impeached/assassinated, you name it.
Bev, Glad to hear I'm not alone. I really have reached a point where I am just angry reading these things. It is such obnoxious garbage and it never stops. There is nothing they won't spin into hypocritical, nonsensical, completely made-up, hypersensitive, fakeoutrage, and I'm sick of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is pure propaganda. And it's so bizarre that it actually makes Nazi propaganda look subtle and fair by comparison.
It is beyond a disgrace.