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Fragments of Humanity: Exploring Bruno Catalano’s sculptures on Park Avenue and What they are Missing

An urban scene featuring a Ruth Bader Ginzburg statue in the style of Bruno Catalano, depicting a figure with a large gap in its midsection and holding a briefcase that also has a gap. The statue is situated on a black pedestal surrounded by greenery.

Group Members: Isabella Yakutilov

Of the nine sculptures from Bruno Catalano’s Travel to New York series on Park Avenue, not a single sculpture depicts a female. The sculptures are meant to symbolize the fragmented nature of people living in or travelling through New York City due to hardships associated with migration, displacement, and separations. The series is male-centric; however, New York City is most definitely not male-centric and the hardships faced by females differ to those faced by males, therefore the true depiction of people in New York City must include the feminine perspective. The ideal representation of this feminine perspective would be a sculpture of Ruth Bader Ginzburg as she represents many elements of perseverance and struggle associated with her Jewishness, being a mother, and pursuing the field of law as she became the first female to serve on the Supreme Court. Her journey was most definitely convoluted and emblematic of struggles faced by many women, therefore her addition to the series would be very valuable and logical to concept of fragmented, strenuous nature that the Travel to New York series conveys.

How did completing your project help you explore the role of arts in the lives of New Yorkers and their communities?

As New Yorkers we are often on the move or in transit and rarely take the time to simply enjoy the nature and art that surrounds us. Public art in New York City embodies the true essence of New Yorkers as it often depicts New Yorkers from a third perspective that encourages introspection. Arts encourages New Yorkers to pause for a moment and analyze in a way that is educational and alters how we view others, their journeys, all our surroundings. A truly jaw dropping artwork can catch New Yorkers by surprise and forget all other thoughts, the way that Bruno Catalano's Travel to New York series caught me off guard.

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Categories: Baruch / Gillespie, Benjamin / Seminar 1
Tags: difficulties / Journey / success

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