Author of the famous bronze bull, symbol of Wall Street, sculptor Arturo Di Modica died at the age of 80 on the night from Friday to Saturday. The information is reported by the Italian media. The Sicilian artist had been fighting cancer for years.
The sculptor is above all famous for his imposing bronze bull sculpture weighing 3.2 tons (4.9 meters long and 3 meters high), installed near the New York Stock Exchange. Baptized Charging Bull (Bull in the process of charging), the work had been sculpted by the artist and financed from his own pocket, or more than 350,000 dollars at the time.
The bull had been installed illegally in front of the New York Stock Exchange, in the wake of the stock market crash of 1987, as a symbol of “the strength and power of the people”. Arturo Di Modica trucked his sculpture in December 1989 to Lower Manhattan. He had placed it under a Christmas tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange, like a gift for New Yorkers.
Artistic guerrilla
After a few weeks of true artistic guerrilla warfare, the bull had finally been accepted by the municipality, which had decided on its current location, north of Bowling Green Park at the intersection of Broadway.
In a recent interview with The Republic, the sculptor had returned to the genesis of his project: “It was a period of crisis, the New York Stock Exchange had fallen overnight by more than 20%. With some friends I wondered what I could do for my city. Sure, I’m from Vittoria, but I’ve lived in New York for over 40 years. So the idea came to me to sculpt a bull, the image of the stock market going up: it must have been a joke, a provocation. And yet it has become something serious! ”
In front of the Empire State Building
“I was told that after the Statue of Liberty, the Charging Bull, a stone’s throw from the Temple of Global Finance, is New York’s most visited monument. He even passed the Empire State Building, ”he rejoiced.
The Charging Bull is one of the most photographed works in New York City. Legend has it that scratching his nose, grabbing his horns or testicles brings good luck.
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