Amid Controversy Mayor De Blasio Says ‘Fearless Girl’ Can Stay Until February 2018

The most talked about piece of public art in New York City got a stay of execution until February of next year, but controversy still swirls around our “Fearless Girl.”

Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” seems to have met it’s match in the form of Kristen Visbal’s “Fearless Girl.” The 50-inch bronze statue depicts a a young girl, around 10 years of age, staring down the financial districts iconic bull.

We’ve been pretty clear on our blog that we support the “Fearless Girl” but we’d be remiss if we didn’t cover the controversy that has lead up to her one year extension.

The biggest criticism of the statue seems to be that she began her life as a PR stunt. Commissioned by financial services firm State Street Global Advisors to highlight the gender gap in the financial services, the girl has had more than her fair share of criticism on twitter and across a slew of publication. Even the sculptor of the Bull, Arturo Di Modica, chimed in, calling the statue an “advertising trick,” saying he made the bull for to represent all Americans, not just women. I think I made it clear how I feel about this criticism in my last post:

Sure, the piece started its life as a PR stunt, […] but Viagra started life as heart medication, and I don’t see many men complaining about that.

If, like us, you love the “Fearless Girl” and want her around permanently, bear in mind that the Bull was once a temporary installation too.

Whether you love the fearless girl or hate her, this divisive statue is going to be sticking around and for now at least, the Charging bull no longer has the biggest balls in Bowling Green Park.

“Fearless Girl”, installazione temporanea di Kristen Visba, senza paura rimane lì dov’è, a contrastare il toto di Wall Street, almeno fino al febbraio 2018. #MiPiace #fearlessgirl #wallstreet #ny #nyc #instanewyork #newyork #like4like #igers #iphonesia #iphoneonly #instacool #iamadreamer #itsnewyorkbaby #instaart #installation #picoftheday #photooftheday #instapic #instaphoto #like #great #KristenVisba

A post shared by Domenico Raimondi (@thesignlab) on Mar 28, 2017 at 1:36am PDT

More of our coverage on the Fearless Girl:

• Mayor De Blasio Is “Open To” Keeping Our ‘Fearless Girl’ On Wall Street
• Thousands Join The Fight To Make The “Fearless Girl” A Permanent Fixture On Wall Street
• The Mayor’s Office Will Remove The “Fearless Girl” Soon …One Public Advocate Is Fighting Back
• This Wall Street “Bro” Dry-Humping The Fearless Girl Statue Has Facebook Fuming
• Everything You Need To Know About The “Fearless Girl” Staring Down Wall Street’s Charging Bull

Featured image source [Instagram |usconsmilan]