As some one who was a block away when the first tower collapsed and
experienced the deaths of many people first hand, I find the sculpture to be
in entirely bad taste and exhibited at entirely the wrong time. It seems to
be Fischl's attempt to get his name in the papers again.
Let's be clear what is represented in the statue: It depicts a woman who has
jumped or fallen from one of the towers at the moment her head hits the
ground. The only part of her body to touch the ground is the back of her
head which looks like it is cracking open (at least this is what it looked
like to me).
What is happening at Rockefeller Center is not simply censorship but public
outrage. There is a lot of concern over continuing depression and children's
inability to recover and then this is placed in a very public part of the
city. It cannot be missed if one is walking near it.
And, the main questions to be asked are: Who is complaining? How does this
function as a memorial? By being a blatant reminder of how many people took
control over their destinies by choosing to jump instead of being burned
alive? For those of you who like to view such depictions, there are numerous
websites with videos of people jumping from the buildings and hitting the
ground. Perhaps, people are upset because the Fischl only shows the woman
hitting the ground once, not bouncing up and coming down again as many
actual people did. Maybe people are upset because it's not realistic enough.
But, then again, maybe people are only upset because they don't like
contemporary art. Yeah, that's what making people upset about this
sculpture, it's art.
Loretta Lorance
----- Original Message -----
From: "Teresa Whitt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 10:12 AM
Subject: 9/11 Censorship? Statue of falling woman censored
> Greetings Listers:
>
> An article has appeared on MSNBC.com, regarding the draping, and upcoming
removal of a sculpture by Eric Fischl. The sculpture, intended as a
memorial to victims of September 11th, was placed in Rockefeller Center.
After some complaints, the statue was draped, and is reported to be
scheduled for removal. To read the articles, go to:
>
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/810019.asp
>
> http://msnbc.com/news/743584.asp?0dm=C13KL
>
> I am interested in listers' opinions on this. I can't help but be
reminded of all of the PC flack that came out in the 1990s regarding
exhibitions and controversial works (can anyone say Enola Gay?) However,
this is a different situation, but still very interesting.
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
-------------------------------------------
Introducing NetZero Long Distance
Unlimited Long Distance only $29.95/ month!
Sign Up Today! www.netzerolongdistance.com
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
