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Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Peduto poised to move controversial Stephen Foster statue
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Peduto administration Tuesday signaled that it will follow a recommendation from the Pittsburgh Art Commission that the controversial statue of late composer Stephen Foster be moved from its location in Oakland.
2 comments:
Cooper Nickels
said...
It is an interesting time to be a part of here when we are beginning to reconsider what it is we really want to remember of our history and how we want to represent that. Out-dated statues have been the topic of conversation for a while now, and it does not seem to be lightening up any. At first when I saw this article, I thought "How could Stephen Foster be controversial?" But after seeing it, I can tell that it is not the most well thought out statue for sure. We have to be careful with these things now. It is so easy to make something that is not only offensive but downright oppressive. It is important to keep this in mind when creating art, because you are creating something that is meant to be seen by a large number of people, and if you are not trying to offend people, you must be absolutely laser focused on not doing that because one overlooked detail can be enough to hurt a lot of people.
I have walked by this statue countless times without actually knowing whom it was of or why it was even there. Upon hearing of the vote to have it removed, I did a little research and have to agree with the decision to have it removed from the area. Oakland is a college area with bright young artistic minds moving forward and often fighting the issues of racism and other politically charged topics. It just doesn’t make sense to have this statue here anymore. If anything, this statue belongs in a museum about local history where it can be presented in the correct frame of mind saying “yes, this man is a famous local composer, but he did some things that we’re not all too proud of as well.” I don’t know where the proposed areas are to move the statue, but I do hope that the moving efforts also present it in a properly historical light.
2 comments:
It is an interesting time to be a part of here when we are beginning to reconsider what it is we really want to remember of our history and how we want to represent that. Out-dated statues have been the topic of conversation for a while now, and it does not seem to be lightening up any. At first when I saw this article, I thought "How could Stephen Foster be controversial?" But after seeing it, I can tell that it is not the most well thought out statue for sure. We have to be careful with these things now. It is so easy to make something that is not only offensive but downright oppressive. It is important to keep this in mind when creating art, because you are creating something that is meant to be seen by a large number of people, and if you are not trying to offend people, you must be absolutely laser focused on not doing that because one overlooked detail can be enough to hurt a lot of people.
I have walked by this statue countless times without actually knowing whom it was of or why it was even there. Upon hearing of the vote to have it removed, I did a little research and have to agree with the decision to have it removed from the area. Oakland is a college area with bright young artistic minds moving forward and often fighting the issues of racism and other politically charged topics. It just doesn’t make sense to have this statue here anymore. If anything, this statue belongs in a museum about local history where it can be presented in the correct frame of mind saying “yes, this man is a famous local composer, but he did some things that we’re not all too proud of as well.” I don’t know where the proposed areas are to move the statue, but I do hope that the moving efforts also present it in a properly historical light.
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