[Photo via @UnionSquareNYC]
Sculptor Jim Rennert's 12-foot THINK BIG sculpture arrived Wednesday on Union Square. And today, you can meet Rennert from 10 a.m.-noon at the site of the work — the southeastern triangle at Union Square East, between 14th and 15th Streets.
Per the press materials:
The monumental bronze businessman stands at over 12-feet tall gazing up at the Manhattan skyline, considering the endless possibilities that lay ahead. Rennert encourages visitors to consider his message that anyone can achieve their dreams and goals if they 'think big.'"
The sculpture will be up through October.
Updated 1:47 p.m.
So far, the early word on THINK BIG has been fairly negative, at least here in the comments and on Facebook... Here, East Village resident Courtney Lee Adams Jr. shared her feelings about the sculpture ...
"I think this is an enormous mistake."
The monumental bronze statue of Amanda Burden stands at over 12-feet tall gazing at all of the pedestrian plazas and ponders, "where can I get even more people to sit and waste precious space."
ReplyDeleteThank goodness Mr think big business man is not facing the East Village, although he might occasionally glance over to the "northwest East Village's" Jefferson.
ReplyDeleteHe has staked his claim downtown in the new mid-town south.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if this thing were defaced on a regular basis - big fat businessman looking greedily at the city and trying to figure out what he can tear down to benefit his bottom line - and I will be hard-pressed not to toss some eggs at it myself.
ReplyDeleteThinking Big is thinking stupid. I've had enough of Big thinking. I want more Intimate Thinking, thinking small where we can actually get to know something real about the neighborhood, the city, and each other. Booooooo Mr. Big!
ReplyDeleteTrite and tedious.
ReplyDeleteJust what the city needs, more business men to ponder how they can take all and give nothing.
ReplyDeleteUgly.
ReplyDeleteOf course you hipsters feel need to politicize an inspirational work of art. Get. A. Life.
ReplyDeleteGuys, there's has tag -- better start jamming that asshole's twitter feed… #doyouthinkbig
ReplyDeleteOf course you think people who have opinions other than your own are hipsters. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete@Anon. 11:38 - please explain two things to me.
ReplyDelete1) How is this giant chunk of bloated blackness in any way, shape or form "inspirational"? What should I be inspired to do, grow 6 feet, gain 400 pounds and stand in Union Square looking smug?
2) How does my decrying what it looks like it's suggesting, after having watched the mindset it seems to represents destroy my beloved New York, make me in any way, shape or form a "hipster"? Do you even know what that word means?
I await your trite answer. And if you don't like my questions, please move back to Keokuk.
Does anyone know the meaning behind this sculpture or the artists story behind his vision. I think you would all changed your minds if you read about him. Its actually really inspiring and has little to do with being a business man and more about inspiring to be an artist and following your own path rather than sticking to the corporate world. I think you guys would really enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteThe artist is from Utah, used to be a broker, and gave it up to be a sculptor. He truly believes in anyone following their ambitions. People are just finding reasons to hate.
ReplyDeleteAnd @ Gojira, it's not okay that someone called you a hipster, but it's okay to insinuate he's from Iowa? Makes sense.
@2:52 It is the artist's job to tell his story through his artwork. It's not the viewer's job to investigate the piece's true meaning because they see something other than the artist's intended message.
ReplyDeleteUsing a business man as a metaphor for 'thinking big' in a city that's seen so much Big Business corruption post 9/11 conjures up thoughts of corporate greed and contempt for the average working family.
The better metaphor would have been a young child who approaches the world before him/her with wonder, excitement and infinite possibility.
Get this thing out of here.
You aren't giving us any reason to love, that's for sure.
ReplyDelete"Get. A. Life."
ReplyDeleteor
"Get A Grip."
or
"This is New York"
Or
If you don't like_______, move to________.
or
"All you haters!"
I'm done, anyone else have some hick lines to add?
@Crazy Eddie You forgot "Leave Britney alone!!!"
ReplyDeleteAt least its art, not a condo city....now lets get a good piece in here
ReplyDeleteBecause if there's one thing New Yorkers don't do enough of it's thinking big...
ReplyDeleteAm reminded of when great genius Richard Serra was paid a fortune to install a 100 foot long 11 foot high slab of rusted iron in the middle of the seating area behind 26 Federal Plaza off of Lafayette and Duane Streets, rendering the area unusable and oppressive. Enough simpletons like myself, unable to understand the depth of brilliance embodied by a rusty retaining wall, made enough noise that the slab was eventually removed and sat in a storage lot in Broooklyn for decades. Serra kept every penny of his huge commission, the only losers were the taxpayers and the general public.
ReplyDeleteAh, public art.
Friends, there is no distinction between this kind or art and a condo city -- they are all part of the same thing: privatization of public spaces in the service of real estate and other business owners. This humongous piece of tripe is brought to you by the NYC Parks Dept, and the Union Square conservancy -- the names of whose board members and contributors will tell you everything you need to know about whose interests are being served here. http://unionsquarenyc.org/about-us/our-team/.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually even worse when you know that the artist is a former stockbroker, because it makes you realize that the image is an homage to himself, as he smugly celebrates his departure from the corporate world to pursue a career as a sculptor -- which he then sells to stockbrokers and the corporate types who now run Union Square. Rinse, repeat.
ReplyDeleteNeglected to include title of piece I referenced, "tilted arc".
ReplyDeleteGrieve, Comments on your blog and Facebook page are always negative. There's nothing new about that.
ReplyDeletewhat about the differences between a condo city and another piece of art? I asked that they put another Piece Of Art Here..Remember The Port Authorities ''Magic Clock,'' by George Rhoads? Public art can make a difference...not this turd
ReplyDelete@9:28 And yours makes a lovely addition to its predecessors.
ReplyDeleteHad it up to here with ALL of these YuppieDunners.......work the system for as long and as hard as you can caring only about themselves.....bank a couple of mill.....then look around to see what you can do to "fulfill" yourself.......WHILE THE REST OF US CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH THE WORLD THEIR EFFORTS HAVE LEFT US WITH.....AND THEN TELL ALL OF US TO FOLLOW OUR DREAMS......
ReplyDeleteBLOW.....THE.....FUCKIN'....THING.....UP!!!
I'm waiting for Bernie Madoff's public art installation myself! I hear it's a stoic fountain pouring forth all of the tears he shed for his financial victims, conveniently located on Wall Street.
ReplyDeleteIt's a piece of FART!!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like ALFRED HITCHCOCK.
ReplyDelete