NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

An artist hated the 'Fearless Girl' statue - so he put another at her feet

By Peter Holley
Washington Post·
31 May, 2017 01:47 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange. Photo / AP

Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange. Photo / AP

For nearly three months, the "Fearless Girl" statue has stared down the "Charging Bull," an iconic, 3.3m, three-ton monument to "peace, strength, power and love," according to the artist.

This weekend, New York artist Alex Gardega decided he'd had enough.

While "messing around" in his studio, Gardega decided to create a small sculpture of a urinating dog, which he placed beside the "Fearless Girl" statue's left leg for several hours yesterday, drawing curious and angry onlookers and unleashing the latest round in the battle of Wall Street statues.

The name of the sculpture: "Pissing Pug." (Though he told NBC News that it was called "Sketchy Dog.")

"The logic explains itself," Gardega told the Washington Post. "The dog invading her space is reflective of her invading the space that belongs to the bull."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I happen to know someone who knows the artist who made the bull, and so I know what he put into that work," he added. "He dropped about US$350,000 of his own money into the sculpture, and 'Fearless Girl' statue changes the meaning."

The 1.2m-tall statue was placed in front of the bronze bull on March 7, around the first anniversary of the Gender Diversity Index SHE, which tracks companies that are gender diverse. It was commissioned by the investment firm State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) as an advertising campaign.

Delaware-based artist Kristen Visbal cast the bronze girl, who wears pigtails and a windblown dress, and, with hands on her hips, stares daringly at the beast before her.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We were focusing on making a statement about the future of Wall Street," Visbal told CNN Money. "We wanted this wonderful contrast."

The project is about "girl power," she said, a message to corporate boards on Wall Street with a dearth of women members "that we are here, that we are heard, that we are permanent."

The plaque at the feet of "Fearless Girl" reads: "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."

"Fearless Girl" has become a tourist fixture in Lower Manhattan, with more than 25,000 Instagram photos tagged #fearlessgirl. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is allowing the temporary statue to remain in Bowling Green Park until February 2018.

Discover more

World

Heartbreaking plight of 'butterfly baby'

30 May 08:01 PM

Arturo Di Modica, the bull's creator, told AP last month that he considers "Fearless Girl" an "advertising trick" that alters the creative message of his legendary work by implying that the two statues are locked in a conflicted faceoff.

Di Modica's lawyer, Norman Siegel, a former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told the Post that he sent requests to the city of New York and SSGA informing both entities that the statue violated his client's rights under copyright law.

To date, Siegel said, he's heard nothing back.

"My hope back then was to sit down and amicably resolve this issue," he said, noting that he hasn't filed a lawsuit yet. "Silence at least on the city and SSGA's part speaks for itself. I'm disappointed because I was trying to avoid litigation if possible."

Gabriel Koren, an artist who created a sculpture of Frederick Douglass peering into Harlem from Central Park, told the Post that she can understand why a competing work of art - placed without permission - would present a serious problem for an artist.

"Every sculpture needs space. That is the nature of sculpture," she said. "If you put something else there, it changes it." "Fearless Girl," she said, is "cute," but "you don't stand up for women's rights at the expense of the artist's rights. Each right is equally important. I am saying this as a woman."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

With the statue war in limbo, and Gardega wanting to stand up for his fellow artist, he decided to act. He created the dog sculpture fairly quickly, he said, and even noted that he did a shoddy job on the sculpture to hint at how unworthy "Fearless Girl" is in comparison with the bull.

"I made it in a couple hours, and it looks like that as well," Gardega said.

Gardega has a knack for creating art that grabs headlines. In 2012, the Brooklyn-based provocateur unveiled a Bernie Madoff-themed hot sauce he called "Bernie in Hell," according to the New York Daily News. He's also known for creating New York City trading cards and painting the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of his apartment, the paper reported.

Many women who gathered around the "Pissing Pug" and "Fearless Girl" were unconvinced that Gardega's work did not contain a misogynistic undertone, according to the New York Post.

"That's an a-hole move. You call this art?" one woman, who was not identified, told the paper.

I hope we keep adding statues until there are so many that nobody on Wall Street can get out https://t.co/ru5cVKNFbd

— emm (@emmgineering) May 30, 2017

Some people even kicked the statue, damaging it, Gardega said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As news of the urinating dog spread on social media, the sculpture quickly became another proxy battle for larger conversations about gender equality, power and respect on Wall Street.

Gardega said he rejects the idea that the girl statue is a feminist symbol and isn't worried about the online backlash his dog sculpture spawned.

"I'm an old-school New Yorker, so things roll of my skin pretty easily," he said. "I get a lot of hate mail. I think I am bringing up a valid point here. I totally believe in my stance on the dog sculpture and my stance on Arturo's sculpture."

Gardega said he left Wall Street with the dog sculpture in tow and plans to repair the statue. The reason? The pug's work is not done, he said.

"I'm going to put it back next week," he said.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Trump fires labour statistics commissioner after figures show poor job growth

Watch
World

US markets slump as Trump tariffs raise stakes for global trade

World

Summer camp poisoning: Former vet faces ill-treatment charges


Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Trump fires labour statistics commissioner after figures show poor job growth
World

Trump fires labour statistics commissioner after figures show poor job growth

Following a jobs report showing weak employment growth, US President Donald Trump fired labour statistics chief Dr Erika McEntarfer, calling the report 'rigged.' Video / AFP

Watch
02 Aug 08:07 AM
US markets slump as Trump tariffs raise stakes for global trade
World

US markets slump as Trump tariffs raise stakes for global trade

02 Aug 04:22 AM
Summer camp poisoning: Former vet faces ill-treatment charges
World

Summer camp poisoning: Former vet faces ill-treatment charges

02 Aug 04:15 AM


Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture
Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

01 Aug 12:26 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP