NYC politicians want to sell sexist city statue on Craigslist
By James Brady RyanFebruary 28th, 2011, 11:10 amComments (12)
Rep. Anthony Weiner and City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras have a very of-the-time idea about what to do with the decaying "Triumph of Civic Virtue," an eighty-nine-year-old statue that stands outside of Queens Borough Hall: sell it on Craigslist. (Full picture below.) And why not spend the money to refurbish the thing, besides the city's budget crisis? Because "Triumph of Civic Virtue" depicts "virtue" as a strapping young man stepping on the the female forms of "vice" and corruption." (Maybe that's why so many married politicians get caught with naked young men? They just thought they were being good citizens.)
Naturally, some people are outraged at the idea, or even the allegation of sexism, saying that the statue is simply a product of its time and a Queens landmark. Of course, even at its unveiling, women's groups hated the thing, and it's only in Queens because Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia thought it was ugly and wanted it out of Manhattan. (Speaking of: I can barely even tell what's happening in the piece, and while I know I'm no art historian, I just... don't think it's very good?)
It might be worthwhile to find a better venue to do so, but why not auction it off? The "Triumph of Civic Virtue" won't crumble into nothingness, New York City won't have to spend money to restore a sexist statue that probably shouldn't be in front of a government office, and maybe there's a profit to be made. Everyone's happy!
(Hahaha! No. That will never happen.)
Commentarium (12 Comments)
so...what's the going rate for a sexist statue that is known for its ugliness?
Just re-purpose and re-name it: The Ugliness of Sexism.
I don't get it. What's so sexist about it? Are the waves he's standing on women or something? It's hard to tell.
Yeah, you can’t tell from that picture, but then a quick image search didn’t turn up many pictures from other angles. I found one that shows one of the women a little better: https://www.stinque.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/civicbutt.jpg
Does Weiner not have more important things to do for his constituents?
He's lost all credibility when it comes to calling out the Reps for wasting time on unimportant issues.
I can see where you're coming from, Huh, but considering that Rep. Weiner's actually been working pretty hard to help stop the defunding of Title X -- I actually just saw him speak at a rally this weekend -- it looks to me like the man can do more than one thing at a time.
Thanks JBR, you beat me to that point.
I think it's lovely. Any city would be lucky to have it.
Oh, good. Let's get rid of all that pesky "politically incorrect" art. Always hated that contrary rubbish. Art should stick to pictures of fuzzy rabbits and things everybody likes. You know, like lolcats.
Not only do these politicians need to find something better to do, but this just strikes me as a completely nonsensical object to focus on to make some kind of statement.
Well, no -- "getting rid of all the pesky 'politically incorrect' art" would mean demolishing this thing, then heading over to the Met with a flamethrower. What they're talking about is what kind of art is the best choice for a government building, given that placement there is also a tacit endorsement by said government, which is supposed to represent us all equally. They don't want it destroyed, just moved. Seems reasonable enough to me.
This totally reminds me of that statue in the Ministry for Magic.
Especially since what he's trampling on are actually MERMAIDS, according to the NY Times link. Who would trample a mermaid. That's just wrong.
Now you say something