This is an amazing, and often appalling, string.
First -- who cares about replicating this image with precision? Did you
want a bronze version of a photograph? Or do you think that perhaps what
we have here is a s-y-m-b-o-l; a symbolic rendering of the heroic actions
of those who lived and those who died, but all of whom we New Yorkers
count as heroes. New York is a wonderfully diverse community, and, to
its credit, its Fire Department has over the past decades come to reflect
that diversity. Is this monument to be a bronze memento of a great
photographic moment? Who needs it?! The point is to memorialize the New
York Fire Department, and the spirit of brave selflessness that its
members have demonstrated.
Second, to use a glib sobriquet like "pc" to dismiss the impulse toward
making this symbol universal, and then think that you have said something
profound is absurd. This is a limbaughism used to set the stage to
snatch back the hard-won advances of the just struggles of women and
people of color over the past couple of decades -- the centuries old
struggles of people historically at the bottom and the back. Your
intended dismissal is intellectually lazy, irresponsible, and that's the
kind interpretation.
We don't need another statue of white men representing all of humanity --
or all of the New York Fire Department for that matter. If this
particular image meets more of this kind of backward opposition, no
problem: we have many, many images of heroes in action, and we should
pick a representative one.
Oliver Hirsch
Hirsch & Associates Fine Art Services, Inc.
New York
On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:51:12 -0500 "Feltus, Pamela" <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
> They picked Hayes because of his race? I didn't think they were so
> p.c. at
> the time. Plus, the same men didn't raise the flag every time and I
> don't
> think at the time they knew it would become the major icon that it
> is.
> Who knows though, as they were really into propaganda and symbolism
> back
> then, so you could be right. Could you get back to me
>
> But back to the NY firefighters statue- were the men in the picture
> asked?
> How would you feel if you took place in this symbolic act that has
> become so
> important and then you find out that because your race isn't p.c.
> enough
> you're being replaced by someone else?
>
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Oliver Hirsch
Hirsch & Associates Fine Art Services, Inc.
New York
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