Photos of Aaron Bell at the Art Students League by fellow artist Lee Apt.
On Friday, Aaron Bell put the finishing touches on a noose with a slash through the center of it for his sculpture “Stand Tall, Stand Loud” in Riverside Park at West 61st street. The noose will be affixed to the sculpture (which now has an image of open mouths at the top) on Wednesday, he tells us. The sculpture is part of Model To Monument, a joint public art program by the city and Art Students League.
The city initially rejected Bell’s attempt to use a noose image in the sculpture. But after a story in the West Side Rag, there was a public outcry about the sculpture, which forced the city’s hand and led the parks department to give it the green light.
We’ll have more on the Model to Monuments program, which features several striking sculptures, in the next day.
Why does it very closely resemble a GIANT (but healthful/no-added-salt) CENTRAL PARK PRETZEL?
Oooh, THERE’s a money-making idea! Miniature-ize this to real pretzel size and sell it to the tourists.
If they eagerly spend $3 on just a plain-old pretzel they’d probably shell-out $5 or more on this … especially the Trump-voting Types.
Of course, for them the vendors would have to remove the “No”-Slash…..so as to make the noose more appealing to Trump-voters’ basic beliefs.
I’m all in favor of art. This however makes me uncomfortable. It is too easy to be misconstrued.