‘Tasteless’: NYC Tears Down Statue Of Thomas Jefferson, Erects 12-foot Statue of ‘Overweight Black Woman’

New York City previously tore down a historic Thomas Jefferson statue only to now erect a 12-foot bronze statue of an “overweight black woman,” which many blasted as “tasteless” and more.

The statue is called “Grounded in the Stars” and was unveiled on Wednesday in Times Square, created by artist Thomas J. Price. The artist’s “Man Series,” a stop motion animation, will also appear nightly throughout May on the district’s billboards, providing a “two-part takeover” in the district that “amplifies traditionally marginalized bodies on a monumental scale,” per the Times Square website.

Price said, per the Times Square site.

“Times Square stands as an iconic symbol and site of convergence, uniting people from all walks of life, individual stories, and experiences intersecting on a global platform. The intention of my public works is to become part of the place they inhabit and its physical, material history, as well as the visitors that pass through and around the location, no matter how fleeting. I hope ‘Grounded in the Stars’ and ‘Man Series’ will instigate meaningful connections and bind intimate emotional states that allow for deeper reflection around the human condition and greater cultural diversity.”

Times Square called the “pose of the woman’s body and ease of her stance” in the statue a “subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David” and that it “confronts preconceived notions of identity and representation.”

It was comments like how the statue provides a “stark contrast” to the two current Times Square statues of “white men” on pedestals that got social media users upset.

“In 2021, NYC removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall due to ‘racism,’” one person wrote on X. “The city has now erected a huge statue of a rotund woman in Times Square. So, we’re taking down monuments to people who accomplished some of the greatest feats in human history, from which we are all still benefiting, and instead honoring random people who have zero notable contributions. Doomed.”

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