Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) favorite statue, “Fearless Girl” in New York City, was joined by a statue of a peeing pup Monday, as an artist protested the statue’s mockery of the world-famous “Charging Bull” statue on Wall Street.
New York City artist Alex Gardega wanted to protest the fact that the “Fearless Girl” was commissioned by a major financial firm, and so crafted a paper mache statue of a urinating dog — positioned so that the cheeky pooch would be urinating on the girl’s leg.
State Street Global Advisors put the “Fearless Girl” in front of the bull in March, purportedly to highlight efforts to get more women on corporate boards.
It quickly went viral online and was hailed as a feminist icon by liberals, including left-wing Sen. Warren — who posed with the statue on a visit to NYC last month.
Fight like a girl. pic.twitter.com/qGTn46jS9W
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) April 18, 2017
But Gardega argues that “Fearless Girl” is infringing upon artist Arturo Di Modica’s “Charging Bull” statue, turning it from a positive sign for the city into an aggressive, negative image.
“It has nothing to do with feminism, and it is disrespect to the artist that made the bull,” he told The New York Post. “That bull had integrity.”
Di Modica has also complained about the “Fearless Girl” statue, arguing also that it casts his statue in a negative light, and that it falls under the realm of copyright infringement. But his complaints have fallen on deaf ears among New York’s liberal politicians.
“Fearless Girl” was supposed to be a temporary item, but New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio extended its lease by 11 months due to the statue’s popularity — especially among liberal senators from Massachusetts.
While much of the outrage aimed at Gardega’s “Pissing Pug” — as it became known — was online, with Twitter users accusing him of misogyny, Gardega was eventually forced to take his statue down, as it was being kicked and abused by a number of people passing by.
“That’s an a**hole move. You call this art?” said one woman, who kicked the dog statue, according to the Post.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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