Wall Street’s symbol of’the bull statue’ … the reason why the sculptor Modica was buried and installed illegal

A’Charging Bull’ sits near the New York Stock Exchange, which is considered the center of finance on Wall Street in New York, USA. In the stock market, because of the bull’s symbol, which means’ascent’, there is a myth that touching the horns or vital spots of the statue will bring in fortune, attracting tourists every year. It is the Italian sculptor Arturo di Modica who created the statue, a symbol of Wall Street and a landmark in New York.

On the 21st (local time), the Washington Post (WP) reported that “the sculptor Modica passed away in her hometown of Sicily at the age of 80.” The day before, the village of Vitoria, where he lived, issued a statement stating that “Modica died from her home while fighting cancer.”

According to the WP, in 1987, Modica made a bull statue with 350,000 dollars (about 380 million won) of personal wealth. This massive brass statue, weighing 3.2 tons and measuring 4.9 meters in length, began with the’Black Monday’ incident when the stock price plummeted in October of that year. After seeing the collapse of Wall Street, the headquarters of world capitalism, Modica thought that he would create a sculpture that symbolizes the recovery of the American economy.

On the night of December 16 that year, Modica and 40 friends rented a crane to install a bull statue. I did not get permission from the authorities. In an interview with the Italian media La Repubblica earlier this month, he recalled that time, “the operation time was only 5 minutes,” and “after several reconnaissances, I found out that the police patrol every 7-8 minutes.” New York City tried to demolish it, claiming it was an illegal installation built without permission, but the bull statue remains a local specialty to this day, contrary to New Yorkers.

Modica also strongly criticized the statue of the’Fearless Girl’ erected opposite the bull statue in 2017. State Street Global Advisor (SSGS), an investment advisory firm, erected a statue in the shape of a girl opposite the bull to commemorate World Women’s Day (March 8). With a proud expression, the girl with her hands on her waist seemed ready to fight the bull. It was a statue with a message criticizing the number of female executives on Wall Street.

However, Modica said, “It is not that we do not support gender equality, but the meaning of recovery, strength, and freedom of the bull has faded as the girl statue was established.” It was said that the statue of the bull was seen as having power. Eventually, in December 2018, New York City decided to move the girl statue to the front of the stock exchange.

Modica, who was born in Italy but loved New York, stayed in New York for more than 40 years before fighting disease. He wanted to become an artist since his teenage years, and when he faced opposition from his father, he left home at the age of 18 and studied art in Florence. In the late ’60s, he worked on art with Henry Moore, the leading British sculptor, who praised Modica as “Young Michelangelo.” After that, he opened an art studio near Soho in 1973, working in earnest in New York.

Reporter Kim Sun-mi [email protected]