Artist Slammed For Installing 'Peeing Pug' Statue Beside 'Fearless Girl'
The "Fearless girl" statue on Wall Street is not done with the controversies yet. A New York City artist, Alex Gardega placed a small statue of a urinating dog – "Peeing Pug" next to the statue of the girl sculpture, Monday in order to protest its installation facing the famous "Charging Bull" statue on Wall Street.
Earlier in March, the "Fearless girl" statue was installed on the eve of International Women's Day. A firm called State Street Global Advisers, the world's third-largest asset manager, showed its support for the women of New York and installed the statue facing the Wall Street's iconic "Charging Bull." The statue was designed by an artist named Kristen Visbal.
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Soon after its installation, there were controversies surrounding it and criticism saying that it undermined the integrity of the "Charging Bull" statue.
The "Peeing Pug’s" sculptor, Gardega, told the New York Post that he thinks "Fearless Girl" is a disrespectful publicity stunt and "has nothing to do with feminism."
"I decided to build this dog and make it crappy to downgrade the statue, exactly how the girl is a downgrade on the bull," Gardega told the New York Post. He called the girl’s statue "corporate nonsense," and added, "It has nothing to do with feminism, and it is disrespect to the artist that made the bull. That bull has integrity."
Viewers and people on social media began to criticize Gardega calling his actions "misogynistic" after the installation of the dog’s statue. Gardega removed the statue about three hours after its installation as people also kicked it out of anger. However, the artist said that the pug’s work was not done yet and he said "I’m going to put it back next week."
Gardega also stated that there was nothing wrong with the "Fearless girl" statue, but he wanted to protect the integrity of the "Charging Bull’s" artist, Arturo Di Modica.
"That piece, ['Fearless Girl'] was not made by some individual artist making a statement," Gardega said. "It was made by a billion dollar financial firm trying to promote an index fund. It is advertising/promotion in the guise of art. That was my only point."
Gardega called his statue "Sketchy Dog" and said he created it with a sense of humor and neither of the statues should necessarily interfere with Di Modica’s work, the "Charging Bull," which was there since 1987 after the stock market crash, in order to prove American resilience. The "Charging Bull" was first installed in front of the New York stock exchange, but later moved to its current location.
“I'm a pretty happy person, not seething or angry and certainly not anti-feminist. My piece is not without a sense of humor but I do feel for Arturo and the integrity of his art," Gardega said. "There is plenty of room for 'Fearless Girl.' It just interferes with another artist's work/vision."
Several women who visited the statues of the "Pissing Pug" and "Fearless Girl" on Monday were not convinced about Gardega’s denial of his work being sexist or that it did contain a misogynistic undertone, according to the New York Post.
As pictures of the statues spread across social media, the sculptures soon became a part of a larger conversation regarding gender equality, power and respect.
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