New York: artist paints ten-meter phallus on building. But is immediately covered up

On Christmas Eve, New Yorkers had woken up to a decidedly peculiar gift: a ten-meter mural depicting an erect, lifelike penis painted in bold hues by Swedish artist Carolina Falkholt, who put her own signature on the painting. The giant phallus appeared on the side of a six-story building on Broome Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and was commissioned from the artist by a street art foundation, The New Allen. “We need to discuss sexuality without being ashamed of it,” Carolina Falkholt later said on her Facebook profile, “and strengthen awareness on issues such as consent, gender identity and sexual freedom. Education, female experience and constant curiosity are key.”

However, much of the residents did not like Falkholt’s work at all, especially those living in apartments with windows facing the wall on which the huge manly member appeared. “It’s horrible,” a 47-year-old man who lives in the building across the street told the New York Post, “there are children living in this building and in the neighborhood, and it’s not a good thing for them, they’re small.” He was echoed by a woman, “I certainly wasn’t happy about having to explain, to my twin eight-year-old girls, what this thing is.” Other residents of the area, on the other hand, took it well, saying they did not feel touched by the work: “it doesn’t offend, it’s 2017,” was another comment picked up by the New York Post. Even there were local businesses that used the work as an advertising vehicle to attract new customers.

However, in the end, protests prevailed, and the work was covered in the past few hours with a coat of gray paint: in fact, the owner of the building did not like the mural and ordered its removal. Carolina Falkholt expressed her frustration with the press, but also said that she is now used to such actions, given her work as a street artist. For her, however, the giant phallus was a way to promote a discussion around strong current issues.

New York: artist paints ten-meter phallus on building. But is immediately covered up

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