From Piazza della Signoria in Florence straight to Times Square in New York. As of May 6, Thomas J. Price (London, 1981) has also landed in the most famous square in the American city with his work Grounded in the Stars, another large bronze sculpture, nearly four meters in height, depicting a young black woman with inconspicuous clothing and familiar features. Price’s idea, as with the sculpture in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria, is to redefine the concept of monument, despite the fact that in this sense his work is not particularly new.
The initiative is sponsored by Times Square Arts, an entity that engages contemporary artists to experiment with public art forms in New York’s main square. And with Grounded in the Stars, reads the press release, “Price reinterprets both the monument and the monumentality of Times Square, one of the most iconic public spaces in the world.” Price’s idea, the artist’s website also states, is to “offer an introspective meditation on humanity” in the context of a “culture that encourages faster and faster rhythms.”
Social media users, who are commenting on Price’s work especially on X, are divided between those who embrace the artist’s message, and those who feel that an overweight woman of color in everyday clothing ends up confirming stereotypes rather than combating them. “The intent of my public works,” Price declares, “is to become part of the place where they live and its physical and material history, as well as the visitors who pass through and around it, however fleeting. I hope the work can create meaningful connections and bind intimate emotional states that allow for deeper reflection on the human condition and greater cultural diversity.”
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| From Florence to New York, Thomas J Price lands in Times Square with another statue |
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