Charging Bull is often a popular tourist destination in New York City that many visit but the history of the bull is not commonly known. The leas
t known aspect is that the bull was an illegal placement in the city by the artist, Arturo Di M
odica. As a gift to New York City, the bull was placed in the Financial District but soon
moved a couple feet away.
Created using $360,000 US dollars from his pocket, Di Modica created an sixteen feet long statue weighing over three and a half tons. Di Modica, an Italian-American artist, was born in Sicily but commutes back and forth from there to New York. Specializing in sculptures, Charging Bull is his most famous work included in a series of five bulls with only two placed. From the immense size, the bull had to be created in sections and moved in a huge vehicle. Di Modica placed the bull in front of the New York Stock Exchange in December of 1989 without permission from the city. The statue has yet to be moved from the Financial District because of the huge crowds it draws.
The bull holds significant as a symbol of optimism towards the financial markets and the prosperity that it can come with. The bull was derived off the term “bull market” meaning an increasing confidence and investing by investors because of anticipation towards the financial market. The bull is positioned with a lowered head and leaning back seemingly ready to leap forward and charge forward into the unknown. The bronze, hard metallic emphasizes the animal’s brute force symbolizing its resilience and endurance to whatever may be thrown its way such as the weather conditions.
This bull is site specific, holding an even greater meaning, due to its placement in the Financial District. If Charging Bull was placed in any other part of the city, it would hold less meaning because it would lose its financial meaning. The bull symbolizes prosperity in the financial market bringing it luck. The bull not only enhances the Financial District but was also created for this place. Di Modica created the bull for this certain place and would lose its meaning if it were to be moved.
