The bronze sculpture of a charging bull that sits in the Financial District in Manhattan, a short distance from Wall Street itself, has managed to capture the imagination of residents of New York City and visitors from across the world. Weighing over three and a half tons and measuring 18 feet long, the Wall Street Bull, officially known as “Charging Bull”, has become one of the most iconic images of New York.
Originally presented to the city as an unauthorized gift, the piece is an incredible example of how guerilla art can capture the imgination of residents and visitors for different reasons. It was created as a symbol of the “strength and power of the American people” and showcases what it means to create opportunities in places where they appear to be nonexistent. It also proves that the efforts to do so can be as lucrative as they are profound.
A Symbol of Virility and Courage
Following the Wall Street crash of 1987, sculptor Arturo Di Modica was inspried to create something that would celebrate the can-do spirit of America and New York, which would personify the determination and hard work needed to overcome this obstacle. Created as a symbol of virility and courage, he worked on what would become the Wall Street Bull for over two years at his studio in the Soho district of Manhattan. He cast the Bull in separate pieces and then welded them all together in this space.
In the early morning hours of Friday, December 15, 1989, Arturo with a few friends dropped the Charging Bull on Broad Street right in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Hundreds of onlookers stopped to admire and analyze it, but the sculpture was removed at the end of the day by the NYSE. The ensuring public outcry resulted in it being reinstalled two blocks south of the Exchange, with a ceremony on December 21, 1989.
Today, the Bull sits in Bowling Green where it attracts people from all over. Charging Bull will eventually be moved to a location facing the New York Stock Exchange, and is still being displayed on a temporary permit that allows it to sit on city property. Although the status and placement of the piece remain in flux, many have come to view it as a permanent feature of the area, and identify it as the second most iconic statue in the city, after the Statue of Liberty.
The story behind and associated with the Wall Street Bull is not complete in any sense, but it’s just part of the reason the piece has captured people’s imagination. Doing so has gotten residents to embrace the piece while also attracting visitors from across the world.
Celebrating the Wall Street Bull
The amount of people that constantly gather around the Wall Street Bull to pose for pictures with the Bull is overwhelming. Although the Bull isn’t small in any sense, it can be totally subsumed by the amount of people that fill the area throughout the day.
Because of the size and durability of the piece, it’s easy enough for someone to climb onto the neck of the Bull and pose for pictures. Visitors engage with the Bull in countless ways to capture their photos, and many tourists line up for pictures at the back of the bull, near the large testicles. Many parts of the piece have been rubbed to a bright gleam because of these interactions, which have allowed visitors to have a much more personal connection with the sculpture.
Those personal connections can be celebrated and remembered in numerous ways, as there are all sorts of vendors throughout the area and even the city itself which incorporate the Wall Street Bull. From coffee cups to pictures to collectibles, there is no shortage of memorabilia that visitors can purchase to commemorate their visit and celebrate the piece.
That celebration goes beyond something for tourists though, as the residents of the city have clearly embraced it. The Wall Street Bull is commonly listed alongside other New York icons like the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. It serves as a literal symbol of Wall Street itself, but has come to represent something even bigger, although that fact has seen repercussions in terms of people vandalizing the piece to illustrate a point or position.
The fact that it has become such a symbol to and for the city has created countless opportunities for artist and owner Arturo Di Modica, which are both lucrative and complex.
Ownership and Additions
Di Modica owns the artistic copyright to the statue, which has allowed him to take legal action against large corporations for illegally benefiting from his copyright. He is also within his rights to benefit from merchandise that is sold throughout the city which features the Wall Street Bull on it. Since these items are being sold in shops and by vendors across the city, this copyright represents an important stream of revenue.
Along with the copyright, Di Modica still owns the statue of the Wall Street Bull itself, although he has in the past stated that it was for sale. While he’s mentioned that a sale is contingent on the piece not being moved, this sale represents another profitable opportunity for him.
Di Modica might own the likeness and actual sculpture, but the temporary permit that allows it to stand on city property means he doesn’t have total control over what’s around the piece. This ownership and space situation enabled the placement of a bronze sculpture by Kristen Visbal that was installed near the Wall Street Bull as part of an advertising campaign. Fearless Girl is a bronze sculpture that is much smaller in size and depicts a girl facing the Wall Street Bull.
The juxtaposition of the two pieces has changed the meaning and symbolism inherent in the Wall Street Bull, and gotten visitors to interpret Di Modica’s piece in a much different way. In fact, Di Modica has asked that the statue of the girl be removed since it changes the context of his piece. It’s an issue that continues to be discussed in the context of permaent placement for both pieces.
These opportunities and challenges relating to the space where the Wall Street Bull is placed demonstrate the kinds of issues that need to be considered when creating or placing monumentous strcutures of any kind. These are all details that pale in comparison to the kind of legacy these types of pieces can create though.
A New Icon for New York
In a city that has incredible monuments and artwork located through the cityscape and greenery, it’s not easy to create something that can meaningfully add to this list, but the Wall Street Bull has done just that. In doing so, Arturo Di Modica has created lucrative opportunities for himself in terms of licensing the copyright of this piece, but those opportunities go beyond this single piece. It has led to work on a series of sculptures that are being constructed across the globe.
By symbolizing the power and unpredicability of the stockmarket with a piece that demonstrates the spirit of virility and courage of city and region, he has revealed something much deeper about the city and people in it. Doing so has created a legacy that will extend far into the future in numerous ways across the city and world.
