FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to preserve the "Fearless Girl" statue — despite backlash from artists and critics alike.
In March, State Street Global Advisors, a Boston-based investment firm and Mccann, and advertising agency in New York, installed the 4-foot tall bronze statue of a young girl defiantly leaning towards the famed "Charging Bull" statue downtown on the eve of international Women's Day.
The company said it commissioned the work to promote its campaign of investing in more than 3,500 companies that will broaden gender diversity in the workplace. But some artists — and critics — argued that the statue isn't about feminism, but is a marketing ploy.
Arturo Di Modica, the creator of the "Charging Bull," called the placement of the "Fearless Girl" an "advertisement trick" in April.
Artist Alex Gardega placed a statue of a urinating dog called the "Sketchy Dog" in front of the sculpture as a protest, but the dog was removed hours later.
Maloney said the statue is a testament to women and should stay put for a year or more — adding that the backlash has been unfair.
The dog "was disrespectful to her and I would say to all women," Maloney said at the site on Monday, "They didn't have a urinating dog on the bull...they did it on the girl."
Katherine Siemionko, the founder and CEO of the Women's March Alliance said the "Fearless Girl" can open a platform toward building the nation’s first Women's Museum.
"If she doesn't stay here she should be in a museum; [but] it doesn't exist," Siemionko said. "She is a bridge toward a larger discussion of having a women's museum."
Siemionko added, "I understand the 'Charging Bull's' artist's concerns, but art is open to interpretation."
Kaci Berry, 25 of Austin, Texas, said she appreciated the statue and hoped it would be allowed to stay.
“I don’t think they realized the impact it would have. There will always be controversy, but there shouldn’t be,” said Berry.
Trudy L. Mason, Vice Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee said the sculpture is a testament to women’s empowerment.
“For whatever reasons that she was there whether it was advertising or for the company it has become much more than an advertising ploy,” Mason said. “It has become iconic.”
