The Charging Bull, positioned at Broadway and Morris Street, by Bowling Green has a very strange and interesting history. The sculpture created by Arturo Di Modica is only one of many of this man’s great works. An immigrant from Sicily, Di Modica, has always been fascinated with the art of sculpture. Even from a young age his work has been well known locally. He had attended the Academia Del Nudo Libero for only two years before he opened up his own studio in Florence, Italy. In Florence he mainly did work with bronze and other metals however he sometimes also used marble in his works. After 12 years of living and working in Italy he moved to NYC and opened up a new studio in SoHo. Di Modica was just as acclaimed in NYC as he was back in Italy, thanks largely to his marble sculptures at Rockefeller Center. It was not until 1989 did he complete one of his most recognizable pieces though, the Charging Bull.
The Charging Bull weighted 7000 pounds and took Di Modica two years to complete. In order to place it where he had wanted it, which violated city permits, Di Modica and colleagues staked out the area in front of the NYSE on the night of December 14th to find the interval of time between different police patrols. He and his colleagues returned the next night with the bull to place it however found that a Christmas tree was set up in the exact location he had wanted to leave the bull. With his path obstructed, Di Modica had left the massive 2.5 ton bull under the Christmas tree for all of the world to see and instantly overnight the bull had reached great acclaim. Although the bull was quickly removed under the authority of the NYSE the bull had found a new home where it is now by the Parks Commissioner Henry Stern.
Like many of Di Modica’s works the Charging Bull had been made with a great attention to detail. Although many pieces of art are usually used to show a static image, Di Modica’s works are created in very dynamic states. In his “Charging Bull” the bull is in a stance ready to charge forward. Also like many of Di Modica’s other works, the “Charging Bull” is thought to bring good luck, prosperity and success. Due to its initial location, the Charging Bull could have been very symbolic of the coming prosperity of the economy since the bull in itself is symbolic of an upward trending progression (bull market).
When visiting the “Charging Bull” there were always tourists swarming around it, taking pictures with it and posing in many different ways. Many do it to find this good luck that the “Charging Bull” is supposed to bring while others do it because they find it fun to pose cupping the massive scrotum of the bull. Either way the Charging Bull is very iconic of the city and attracts the attention of millions of tourists. In fact the sculpture is so popular, the NYPD always keeps officers near it because of the sheer number of people that surround the bull. If you want to see the bull but do not want to make it into a tedious commute you can watch it livestream through this link, but nothing compares to seeing it in person!
http://chargingbull.com/video.html
-Kevin Call, Adrian Horczak
The beginning repeats what we explained in class, but it is helpful for anyone who was interested in Di Modica’s sneaky plan to secretly place the bull in a certain location. I find that event a very unconventional and unique way of introducing art. The important part is the end where you mention how tourists like to take silly pictures by the back of the bull to show their relatives at home what amusing art we have in New York City. It was a good idea talking about, researching, and observing this piece of art in New York for our class.