Fearless Girl
| Fearless Girl | |
|---|---|
| File:Fearless Girl.jpg The sculpture on March 8 (International Women's Day), 2017 | |
  Fearless Girl | |
| Artist | Kristen Visbal |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Dimensions | 50 inches (130 cm) tall[1] |
| Weight | 250-pound (110 kg) |
| Location | New York City, New York, US |
| 40°42′20″N 74°00′48″W / 40.705576°N 74.013421°W | |
Fearless Girl is a bronze sculpture of a defiant girl by Kristen Visbal,[2] installed on the Bowling Green, in Manhattan's Financial District, in the US state of New York.[3] The plaque below the statue states, "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."
The statue measures approximately 50 inches (130 cm) tall, and weighs about 250 pounds (110 kg).[1]
History
On March 7 2017, State Street Global Advisors (in a campaign developed by McCann New York)[4] installed the statue facing Charging Bull, a much larger and heavier bronze, on the eve of International Women's Day (March 8). The older artwork is 11 feet (3.4 m) tall, and weighs 7,100 pounds (3,200 kg).[1]
Fearless Girl is meant to "send a message" about workplace gender diversity and encourage companies to recruit women to their boards.[5] The sculpture's installation is temporary; it was initially expected to stay in place at least several weeks,[6] given a New York City Hall permit for one week that was later extended to 30 days.[7] On March 27, it was announced that the statue would remain in place through February, 2018.[8][9] Previously a petition on Change.org asking for the statue to be made permanent gathered 2,500 signatures in its first 48 hours.[7][10]
Reception
Some women criticized the statue as "corporate feminism" that violated their own feminist principles.[11][12][13] New York Times columnist Gina Bellafante called it “an exercise in corporate imaging” by State Street, which, she wrote, had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice, agreeing to pay more than $64 million to resolve fraud charges for secretly billing clients for unwarranted commissions. “Corporate feminism”, she wrote, “operates with the singular goal of aiding and abetting a universe of mothers who tuck their daughters in at night whispering, 'Someday, honey, you can lead the emerging markets and sovereign debt team at Citigroup.'”[14]
Arturo Di Modica, creator of the nearby Charging Bull sculpture, angrily dismissed the newcomer as "an advertising trick" that he wants removed.[1] Visbal expressed no antipathy to his bull statue, but said regarding her newer work, "I made sure to keep her features soft; she's not defiant, she's brave, proud and strong, not belligerent."[1]
See also
- 2017 in art
- Day Without a Woman, a general strike held on March 8, 2017
- Women in business
References
- ^ a b c d e Dobnik, Verena (March 26, 2017). "Will New York invite the 'Fearless Girl' statue to stay on Wall Street?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ Schwedel, Heather (March 7, 2017). "A Bronze Little Girl Has Arrived to Face Down the Wall Street Bull. This Should Go Well". Slate. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (March 7, 2017). "Why a defiant girl is staring down the Wall Street bull". CNNMoney. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ Dobnik, Verena (2017-03-09). "Behind NYC's 'Fearless Girl' statue are 2 corporate giants". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-03-13.[dead link]
- ^ Fierberg, Emma; Levy, Rachael (March 7, 2017). "A $2.5 trillion asset manager just put a statue of a defiant girl in front of the Wall Street bull". Business Insider. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ "'Fearless Girl': New statue stares down Wall Street's bull". The Mercury News. Associated Press. March 8, 2017.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Revesz, Rachel (March 9, 2017). "Campaign launches to make 'Fearless Girl' statue on Wall Street permanent". The Independent. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "'Fearless Girl' statue will stay through early next year". CNN Money. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Silva, Daniella (27 March 2017). "'Fearless Girl' statue will face off Wall Street bull for another year". NBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Bisaria, Anjali (10 March 2017). "People Have Now Launched A Campaign To Make The 'Fearless Girl' Statue Permanent At Wall Street". IndiaTimes. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ The Sculpture of a “Fearless Girl” on Wall Street Is Fake Corporate Feminism. The bronze statue installed by an advertising firm and a financial firm represents basically everything that’s wrong with our society. Jillian Steinhauer, Hyperallergic, March 10, 2017
- ^ The 'Fearless Girl' statue sums up what's wrong with feminism today. Corporate feminism always ends up betraying women’s struggle for justice. That’s why this Wall Street-funded sculpture will never be a symbol to embrace. Cara Marsh Sheffler. The Guardian. 14 March 2017
- ^ Bovy, Phoebe Maltz (March 14, 2017). "'Fearless Girl' Statue Not The Feminist Icon We Need". The Sisterhood. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ Bellafante, Ginia (16 March 2017). "The False Feminism of 'Fearless Girl'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-03-27.