Nude Statue Honoring ‘Mother of Feminism’ Mary Wollstonecraft Sparks Controversy

[laylalex 7,284]

Quote

 

The silver-toned bronze sculpture, created by British artist Maggi Hambling, is located on Newington Green, Islington, close to where the author once lived. Its base is engraved with a quote from Wollstonecraft: “I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.”

 

Speaking with the Guardian’s Alexandra Topping, feminist writer Caroline Criado-Perez, who previously led efforts to install a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett in London’s Parliament Square, says, “I don’t for a second want to take away from the huge effort that they put into doing this, it is an amazing achievement, but what a waste of all the hard work.”

 

She adds, “I honestly feel that actually this representation is insulting to her. I can’t see her feeling happy to be represented by this naked, perfectly formed wet dream of a woman.”

...

Many people on social media pointed to the contrast between the Wollstonecraft statue and those honoring significant male historical figures.

 

“Imagine if there was a statue of a hot young naked guy ‘in tribute’ to eg Churchill,” wrote columnist and author Caitlin Moran on Twitter. “It would look mad. This, also, looks mad.”

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nude-statue-honoring-mother-feminism-mary-wollstonecraft-draws-controversy-180976268/

[fip & jim 452]

I honestly don't understand in what way Hambling thought this statue related to Wollstonecraft. 

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

A "naked, perfectly formed wet dream of a woman" will be good for tourism

[laylalex 7,284]

1 hour ago, CanAm1980 said:

A "naked, perfectly formed wet dream of a woman" will be good for tourism

How about a hot, young, naked Churchill?  

[Prizm123 1,086]

i dont get the reasoning for a nude statue in the first place.... i mean this is 2020, she should have been fully clothed and in a parka

[millefleur 5,046]

From an art criticism perspective, I'm not getting the weird large cloud formation pedestal part with a barbie doll sized proportion figure on top.

Edited November 15, 2020 by millefleur

[fip & jim 452]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

From an art criticism perspective, I'm not getting the weird large cloud formation pedestal part with a barbie doll sized proportion figure on top.

 

It's meant to represent the birth of a movement (the "cloud" is swirling female forms) and everywoman.  Apparently everywoman has bouffant pubes and ripped abs. Apart from the controversy and outrage, I think it doesn't work as a statue or a monument. The proportions are wrong, making the figure look like a car hood ornament. If shown this, with no explanation, I wouldn't guess that it's a representation of feminism or the founder of the movement. It's a statue of a white, young, able bodied woman. In what way is that a representation of everywoman? Hambling has said that if the figure was clothed it would confine her to a period in history, and that it's not a statue "of" Wollstonecraft but "for" her. There's a looooong history of the female nude being the object in art and this sculpture doesn't challenge the sexualization of the female form. It's been a wasted opportunity to honor and celebrate a great woman, in my opinion. 

 

 

[laylalex 7,284]

If they'd put her in classical garb, it would have made the depiction ageless, in my opinion. From the 17th century onwards in Western art, the depiction of modern and ancient people in simple Roman draping has been common -- it has the effect of drawing the attention to the person, and not the clothing itself. We are so used to this device, that we end up not "seeing" the clothing, which is surely Hambling's intent here. 

 

I am no prude. I take no offense at the nude in art. But to celebrate Wollstonecraft, look to her writings -- she was a champion of the equality of the sexes, no? Caitlin Moran is right -- we would not see Churchill celebrated by a random nude young man. Nor would we see John Stuart Mill or Thomas Paine or Jeremy Bentham or really much of any man depicted in a statute honoring them thus. Why is must she be an abstract, instead of an entire person? Why must something stand "for" her. Make it "of" her -- she deserves it.

Edited November 15, 2020 by laylalex