1 Comment
A 12-foot tall bronze sculpture of a young Black woman has been placed in times square. It seems the public has completely missed the message that its artist hoped to convey.
On April 29th, a statue called Grounded in the Stars was placed in the middle of Times Square in New York City.
Standing 12-feet tall, the bronze figure depicts a young Black woman with braids wearing casual, everyday clothing. Her body type is average, and aside from her proud stance – hands on hips and chin up – her demeanour is pretty much expressionless.
All of these qualities are intentional. The statue is the work of visual artist Thomas J Price, who chose this easy upright posture as a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David. Price is known for using his artwork to ‘confront preconceived notions of identity and representation,’ with many of his more recent sculptures being of no one in particular – just your average, everyday person.
In fact, Grounded in the Stars is contrasted by to two nearby monuments in New York City – both of which are white men presented with an intentional level of grandeur.
That’s exactly what Grounded in the Stars aims to do: challenge the kinds of people who should be immortalised by monuments, as well as the kinds of aesthetics we believe heroic or triumphant figures should have.
But instead of receiving this message, spectators have taken to social media to criticize the statue. Much of the online conversation has been focused on misogynistic, fatphobic, and discriminatory interpretations of the statue.
Some Black men called it ‘disgusting’ while some Black women felt it was ‘disrespectful, a ‘misrepresentation’, or a ‘mockery’. Meanwhile, white conservatives claimed the statue depicted ‘an angry Black woman’, spewed racist hate online, and called the installation another attempt at forcing the DEI agenda.
In person, people have been seen stopping to take photos with the statue. Some stand proudly beside it, others grope the statue’s body, or point and make fun of it. There is even a petition to have the statue removed.
This response, though unwarranted and wholly disappointing is almost unsurprising when you consider who the country elected as president.
From a sociopolitical perspective, Grounded in the Stars could be seen as a counter-monument.
It is one that opposes the kinds of statues we are used to seeing around the world, more specifically, those which celebrate historical figures who are known colonisers with connections to the slave trade, or who have committed crimes against humanity to get their country ahead.
And although hateful reactions will always garner the most attention, there have been some positive responses.
TikTok creator @saronthings made a video expressing how ‘fucking epic’ she thought the idea was, stating: ‘To take the average Black American woman and make her larger than life, cast her in bronze, signified to me that your average Black American woman is extraordinary by default. It felt thoughtful and inspired and heartfelt.’
