Arturo Di Modica, 76, the Sicilian artist who created the Charging Bull sculpture that stands on Wall Street to celebrate the prosperity and strength of America, is furious that his sculpture now faces the bronze Fearless Girl statue installed March 7 to celebrate International Women’s day.
Di Modica told MarketWatch: “That is not a symbol! That’s an advertising trick. My bull is a symbol for America. My bull is a symbol of prosperity and for strength. Women, girls, that’s great, but that’s not what that (my sculpture) is.” He added to the NY Daily News: “I did it for all the American people. Not designed for men, women or gay.”
Di Modica donated the Charging Bull statue to New York City in 1989 after he spent $350,000 of his own money to cast the 7,100 lb bronze bull. He placed it in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December 1989 to comfort Americans after the stock-market crash in 1987.
The bull was initially erected in Queens, but then quickly moved to where it currently stands in front of the Bowling Green Park.
State Street Global placed the Fearless Girl opposite the bull as a symbol of the company’s effort to encourage gender diversity on Wall Street. The Fearless Girl’s artist Kristen Visbal told the Wall Street Journal: “Wall Street is a traditionally male environment and it says, ‘Hey, we’re here.’”
“That is not a symbol! That’s an advertising trick. My bull is a symbol for America.”
Arturo Di Modica, who created the Charging Bull
New York City mayoral spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas said of the Fearless Girl, “This temporary installation has elevated important conversations about women in leadership, and we’re as excited by that as many New Yorkers are! Making an art piece a permanent part of the City’s streetscape requires thorough and thoughtful review of a variety of logistical and design factors. We’re exploring the possibility of keeping the Fearless Girl for longer than currently permitted.”