Unveiling of Unauthorized Trump Statue Sparks Controversy in Philadelphia
Recently, an anonymous artist has caused quite a stir in Philadelphia by installing a golden statue of Donald Trump behind a bronze sculpture in Maja Park. The statue features Trump with a cupped hand gesturing towards a nude female figure, accompanied by a plaque that reads, “In honor of a lifetime of sexual assault.” This provocative installation includes a transcription of Trump’s infamous “grab them by the pussy” remarks from a recording made in 2005, leaked prior to the 2016 presidential election. A similar statue appeared in Portland, facing Norman Taylor’s abstract nude “Kvinneakt” (1975), before being mysteriously beheaded.
Charlotte Cohen, the executive director of the city’s Association for Public Art, expressed her initial shock at the statue but later recognized it as a work of satire. She commended the installation for sparking dialogue and debate, emphasizing the essence of public art.
The installation in Maja Park is not the first controversial art piece to surface in Philadelphia. The statue stands behind Gerhard Marcks’s “Maja,” a sculpture that was once hidden from public view for over 25 years before being relocated to the park in 2021. Marcks, a labeled degenerate artist by the Nazis, faced persecution for defending Jewish students and colleagues. “Maja” also survived a bombing of Marcks’s Berlin studio in 1943.
According to the Washington Post, a man claiming responsibility for past controversial artworks tipped off the publication about the Trump statue in Maja Park.
