Statue of Liberty: between symbol and reinterpretation
The Statue of Liberty, whose original name was “Liberty Enlightening the World”, has become a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. One of the world’s best-known monuments, it has inspired pop culture and numerous artists.
Statue of Liberty, an engineering masterpiece
The Statue of Liberty emerged from the imagination of French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi to celebrate Franco-American friendship.
In 1875, a public subscription was launched, describing the project as follows:
“In the middle of the New York harbor, on an islet belonging to the Union of States, opposite Long Island, where the first blood was shed for independence, would stand a colossal statue, silhouetted against space, framed on the horizon by the great American cities of New York, Jersey City and Brooklyn. On the threshold of this vast continent, full of new life, where all the ships of the universe arrive, it will rise from the waves to represent “Liberty lighting up the world. At night, a luminous halo will radiate from her forehead across the immense sea.”
In his first plaster sketches, Auguste Bartholdi conceived of a statue that was already illuminating the world with its right arm raised.
But she stands with her left leg forward, freeing her foot with barely broken chains. In her lowered left arm, she holds a piece of chain, not the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
To build the statue, Auguste Bartholdi worked with Gustave Eiffel, who designed the internal framework. Construction took place in Paris and lasted almost ten years. The statue’s head was presented to the public at the 1878 Universal Exhibition.
Once completed, it was delivered in several parts, and after four months of assembly, it was inaugurated on October 28, 1886.
It immediately became emblematic of the United States of America, as it is estimated that over sixteen million migrants from Europe passed through Ellis Island on their way to the United States. It is also claimed that 100 million Americans today have one or more ancestors who passed through Ellis Island.
The Statue of Liberty, an easy symbol for cinema and advertising
There are many films in which powerful scenes show migrants arriving by boat, their eyes magnetized by their first image of the United States: the Statue of Liberty.
Charlie Chaplin’s “The Immigrant” (1917) and Elia Kazan’s “America, America” (1964) are two legendary films that take up this theme. In each case, the sequence is the same: the liner enters New York Bay and passes the Statue of Liberty, which appears to be waving its torch. On deck, passengers stand in compact groups. Some wave their arms, others stand motionless, overwhelmed by emotion. All are hoping for a better life.
Soon, the United States would also be reached by air, and the airlines in turn took over the Statue of Liberty. Later in the twentieth century, the Statue of Liberty lost its symbolism as the gateway to the United States and became the symbol of the free world. As a result, iconic American brands hijacked the statue, such as many cigarette brands that carried the message that serious addiction was freedom.
Levis jeans also seized on the symbol, going far beyond mere freedom of movement.
From conquering freedom to dystopia
From freedom of movement to emancipation, the statue blows an emancipating wind. You can feel this vital energy in the video for the cover of “Go West” by the British Pet Shop Boys in 1993. This gay pride anthem features a Statue of Liberty represented by a black woman dressed in red.
But more often than not, the Statue of Liberty is used dystopically to portray the threat to freedom and democracy, or even its collapse.
In “Planet of the Apes” (1968), for example, astronaut Taylor, played by Charlton Heston, comes upon the remains of a Statue of Liberty stranded on a beach. Realizing that he has in fact fallen back to Earth and that, during his long space voyage, humanity has self-destructed, he collapses, cursing humans.
Similarly, in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman forever” (1995), a helicopter crashes into the face of the Statue of Liberty on a dark night. But we’re not in New York, but in Gotham City, where everything is chaos and hopelessness.
Artists celebrate freedom
It was pop art that first seized on this symbol of freedom. Andy Warhol, for example, depicted the statue by playing with bright colors and repetition in his 1962 “Statue of Liberty” series. But at the same time, we wonder whether the Statue of Liberty wasn’t just another consumer object for the master of pop art?
Later, in 1986, street artist Keith Haring, with the participation of 1,000 young people, created a “Liberty banner” mural commemorating the centenary of the Statue of Liberty’s arrival in the United States. He also created a smaller version of the mural, using the same visual codes. With these two works, Haring clearly celebrates the famous statue and what it stands for.
With the same enthusiasm, Salvador Dali created a Statue of Liberty in 1972, 7 meters high and holding two torches as a sign of victory. For the Spanish artist, freedom was the winner!
When, in 1988, French artist César created a steel Centaur, he placed a small Statue of Liberty inside its body, a discreet yet highly symbolic statue.
In 1996, the monumental sculpture “Chaufferie avec cheminée”, designed by Dubuffet (who died in 1985) for his Villa Falbala, was inaugurated in Vitry-sur-Seine. Measuring 14 metres high, it is presented as “a flame of resistance and freedom”, taking up the symbolism of the statue’s flame.
In 2014, Chinese artist Xu Zhen created a sculpture featuring 19 figures from Western classical figuration. The work is entitled “European Thousand Arms Classical Sculpture”. Each figure measures 2.50 m, and among them are two Statues of Liberty.
In 2018, following the attacks of 2015 and 2016, the United States presented the city of Paris with a monumental work by Jeff Koons. This “Bouquet of tulips” depicts a hand holding colorful balloon tulips. It is made up of eleven flowers, with the twelfth missing, symbolizing the dead of the attacks. Jeff Koons invokes the spirit of Bartholdi, saying “I wanted to make a gesture of support and friendship between the American and French peoples”.
Artists overcome by doubt
While some artists celebrate freedom, others doubt that the Statue of Liberty can still represent a democratic ideal in a country that no longer carries it high and far.
When Bernard Buffet designed a Statue of Liberty in 1986, against a dark, hatched blue-green background, this historic symbol appeared sad and austere, almost anxious.
In 1989, British artist Gee Vaucher, formerly artistic director of a music group, created a weeping Statue of Liberty entitled “Oh America”. This work, highly critical of the United States, reappeared in 2016 when Donald Trump was first elected president.
A few years later, Brooklyn-born artist Zaq Landsberg created the sculpture “Reclining Liberty”, featuring a Statue of Liberty lying peacefully in the grass. Without engaging in violent protest, the artist explains that his sculpture poses the question “at what stage of America are we?”, which we should take the time to think about. At the time, it was 2021, and the artist was wondering about his country after the pandemic and Trump’s first term in office.
Today, the question is more relevant than ever, with the Statue of Liberty seemingly converted to “Free speech” and all its excesses. Was the 2015 film “The man in the high castle” premonitory of this era with a Statue of Liberty making the Nazi salute?
The editorial team
The thrill of artistic discoveries
