NY It is an exciting city, full of surprises and curiosities. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the heart of the financial center have a sculpture called “Toro de Wall Street”which installed without permission and survives since 1989.
The image of the animal, which was captured in a defiant pose, took on different meanings over time. That is, it is not only a sample of untilbut also represents the American “dream”, capitalism, marketing and even, in recent years, the feminism.
So, despite the fact that his image has changed on more than one occasion and during the last 34 years attempts were made to carry out various projects to remove it, the Wall Street Bull is still located in NY and is identified as one of its biggest tourist attractions.
How did the Wall Street Bull get to New York?
He Italian-American artist Arturo Di Modicawho was known for designing works of art in a secret location and installing them on public roads overnight, without prior authorization, is the one who designed and financed the construction of the Wall Street Bull.
His intention was to create an impressive sculpture, which is identified as a gift from Christmas and represent the resistance and strength that the United States achievedafter the stock market crash of 1987, within the framework of the famous “black Monday”.
And, at the same time, Di Modica confirmed that, through the Toro de Wall Street“I wanted to show that if you want to do something in a difficult moment, you can do it, you can do it by yourself, but you have to be strong.”
So, true to form, on the morning of the December 14, 1989the artist arrived by truck at the main entrance of the building of the new york stock exchange and, in less than five minutes, he installed the sculpture with the help of 40 friends.
And, as expected, from Wall Street they did not agree that the bronze figure of a bull, which measures 5 meters long, 3 meters high and weighs more than 3,000 kilogramsstay installed at the door of your most iconic building.
Therefore, before the end of December 14, 1989, they contracted a service to uninstall the bull, put it on a truck and transport it to Queenswhere it remained stored, for a very short time, in a warehouse.
It may also interest you > Charly García will have his corner in New York
How was the permanence of the Wall Street Bull in New York achieved?
Despite the fact that the New York Stock Exchange tried to make the situation go unnoticed, the opposite occurred. The few hours that the Wall Street Bull managed to remain in front of the building were enough for media from all over the world report it.
Therefore, given the enormous repercussion and the complaint of many tourists who refused to transfer the sculpture, the president of the NYSE (the New York Stock Exchange) contacted Di Modica to try to reach an agreement. agreement.
The executive declared that he accepted the installation of the Wall Street Bull in front of the building, as long as the artist is willing to design and place, next to the bull, the sculpture of a bear
But, Di Modica replied that he did not agree because, while the bull represents a bullish market in the stock marketthe image of a bear represents a falling market.
Finally, although the aforementioned deal did not materialize, the artist managed to contact the mayor of new york and obtained a permit for the Wall Street Bull to settle, for one year, in Bowling Greennext to a small public park in Lower Manhattan and four blocks from its original location.
Why did this sculpture become a tourist attraction?
As we have mentioned, the Wall Street Bull was to be removed from Bowling Green 12 months after its installation. But, as we can see, It has remained in the same place for 34 years.
The reasons for his permanence, in addition to the meaning of the American “dream”, capitalism and marketing that influences, is the tourism potential that the structure generated.
In other words, for more than three decades, the Wall Street Bull has been visited by hundreds of people dailywho pose from all angles to take photos.
And, surprisingly, an urban legend was created that anyone who touches the testicles of the sculpture will have good luck in the future. Therefore, sometimes tourists line up to achieve this task.
It may also interest you > The Statue of Liberty was inaugurated first in Buenos Aires and later in New York
What link does this bronze animal have with feminism?
There is no doubt that, with the passage of time, the controversy caused by the installation of the Wall Street Bull and the projects to remove it, were diluted. However, the sculpture became the focus of the news when, surprisingly, the company received a second artistic exhibition titled “The Girl Without Fear” in 2017.
As its name indicates, this new piece represents the figure of a girlwhich was designed in bronze and is much smaller than the bull, since it weighs 110 kilograms.
And, although the Uruguayan-American artist Kristen Visbal installed it in the same way that Di Modica had done in 1989 (without permissions), the creator of the Wall Street Bull showed himself indignant with the fact and requested to withdraw it immediately.
But, once again, the “Fearless Girl” became a tourist figure which also represented the strength of the feminism in front of the patriarchy, reflected in the bull.
Finally, this modern bronze piece was removed in 2018to place it 400 meters away, at the door of the Wall Street main building. That is to say, in the place that Di Modica had tried to place the bull at first.
2023-04-27 17:56:12
#Bull #Wall #Street #curious #sculpture #York #hides #multiple #meanings
