Wall Street's 'Charging Bull' Statue Is Moving
Due to New York City officials’ safety concerns.
New York City officials have announced that they will be moving Arturo Di Modica’s ‘Charging Bull’ statue away from its current Bowling Green location. Citing safety concerns as the motivation for this decision, the statue will be relocated to a pedestrian plaza near the Stock Exchange.
The statue has become a symbol of Wall Street over the years — as well as a target of a number of controversies. In September 2019, a man hit the 7,000-ton bronze sculpture with a metal banjo, creating a gash in its head and denting its horns. Di Modica flew in from Italy to work on repairs, which cost approx. $15,000 USD. While the attacker cited political motivations for the bull’s destruction, Di Modica stated that “The bull is for all the world, for everybody.” In October 2019, fake blood was poured over the bull by climate change protestors during a “die-in.”
Back in 2017, Kristen Visbal’s ‘The Fearless Girl’ statue was placed in opposition to the bull as a symbol of defiance. It was created to break down barriers for women’s rights, as well as challenge companies to hire more women in senior roles. ‘The Fearless Girl’ was moved to a spot outside the Stock Exchange last December. Although the ‘Charging Bull’ was originally located outside the Stock Exchange in 1989, it was relocated to where it currently stands today. “The bull has been in Bowling Green Park for nearly 30 years and it’s the perfect location,” said Arthur Piccolo, Di Modica’s spokesperson. “There’s no reason to move it now.”
For more statues, Swedish artist Peter Linde immortalized Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a shirtless statue nearly nine feet in height.
