|
 The city's ruling to let the bronze depiction of a defiant
girl remain until February 2018 just feet from the bull's
flaring nostrils should be reviewed, said a lawyer for sculptor
Arturo Di Modica.
"How did the process happen and should permits be revoked?" the
attorney, Norman Siegel, said in an interview on Wednesday,
adding that his client ought to have been consulted.
"He should have been asked, never was," Siegel said. "There are
copyright and trademark infringement issues."
Di Modica told a news conference he envisioned his statue as a
positive symbol, but that the addition of the courageous girl
turned his bull into a villain.
"It's really bad," Di Modica said, sounding distraught and
adding that the bull was loved by people "all over the world."
The 50-inch (127-cm) girl stands fists on hips on a cobble stone
plaza, eye-balling the 11-foot (3.4-meter) bull that has
occupied the space in Manhattan's financial district for nearly
three decades.
Siegel said they want the girl sculpture moved and for Di Modica
to be awarded damages for the violation of his legal, statutory
rights.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in response: "Men who don't like
women taking up space are exactly why we need the Fearless
Girl."
'COMMERCIAL PURPOSES'
Initially installed to mark International Women's Day on March
8, the girl statue was meant to be removed on April 2. But the
city extended its stay amid ebullient interest on social media,
generous press attention and at least two petitions.
State Street Global Advisors, a subsidiary of State Street Corp
<STT.N>, said it financed the installation by artist Kristen
Visbal to highlight the need for more women on corporate boards.
Twenty-five percent of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies have no
female directors, State Street noted at the time.
[to top of second column] |
Siegel said the intent was less high-minded, adding, "They did it
for commercial purposes."
A plaque originally placed at the girl's feet read: ''Know the power
of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.'' It refers to an
exchange-traded fund dubbed "SHE," which invests in companies with
women in top executive posts.
"They have since taken the plaque away," Siegel said. "Which
acknowledges perhaps it never should have been there in the first
place."
Siegel said he has filed Freedom of Information requests about the
permitting process with various city offices. He said he hopes to
avoid going to court and would rather negotiate.
The 7,100-pound (3,200 kg) bull itself originally appeared as
guerrilla art, installed unofficially in front of the New York Stock
Exchange by Di Modica in 1989 and intended to convey the fighting
spirit of the United States and of New York.
After police seized the sculpture, public outcry led the city's
parks department to reinstall it days later nearby at its current
location.
Kate Harding, assistant director of Cornell University Women's
Resource Center, said the bull's "hypermasculine, aggressive image"
belongs to a different era of New York.
She said images of "Fearless Girl" did not go viral online because
people wanted to promote an investment company, "but because she
represents a refreshing, inclusive, 21st-century vision of core
American values like courage and righteous defiance."
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg and Gina Cherelus; Editing by Daniel
Wallis and Frances Kerry)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
