Though art is empowering, controversy can quickly strip away the message that is the source of its power. In the fall of 2015, an East Coast blogger visiting his daughter in Shorewood was examining Jaume Plensa’s sculpture, “Spillover II,” that sits at the top of Atwater Park peering over Lake Michigan. The statue is of a contemplative, crouching man composed of jumbled letters. Amongst the random letters, the blogger managed to assemble the phrases “Fry Bad Jew” and “Cheap Jew.” He took to his blog and expressed frustration claiming these “anti-Semitic” phrases were intentional, and the statue “a piece of scrap.”
This ignited a web-based dialogue between members of the community, and some outsiders, weighing in on the subject. Some opined that the artist had an agenda and demand be removed immediately. Others claimed what the blogger saw was a product of unbridled imagination and insisted it should stay.
Were these phrases intentional? It is very unlikely considering Plensa dedicates his work to bringing people together and in fact, has submitted designs for Holocaust memorials in the past. Nonetheless, the Village of Shorewood decided the proper course would be to remove it.
At first, the decision frustrated me and so I promoted keeping the statue. I blamed America’s fascination with political correctness, a major theme in the news lately. Yet, while I continue to view that blame as well placed and earnestly believe the artwork contained no racist messages, the village’s decision was right.
The statue that once represented how language, our primary means of experiencing the world, “both limits and empowers us by abstract means of translating our experiences,” had become a spectacle. No longer would people visit “Spillover II” to admire the illustrious statue and to contemplate its true meaning.
By accusing Plensa of intentionally including these messages, the blogger stripped away the statue’s meaning along with its artistic power of bringing people together. Understandably, many people joined in the call for no action to avoid rewarding the blogger for his overactive imagination. However, the irony is these people did not realize that by doing nothing, the statue would become a paradox. Rather than being appreciated and known for its message of peace and unity, it would have actually become an oddity that most people would visit primarily for finding its’ assumed anti-Semitic messages.
The Village has now come up with the best solution. It will work collaboratively with Plensa to change the statue by re-jumbling letters so it can no longer be subject to misinterpretation. The statue will then return to its rightful place pensively overlooking Lake Michigan.
