Wall Street's famous statue of a bull in Manhattan's financial district now has a twin brother in Amsterdam. But city officials say the the surprise bronze gift has to go.
On Wednesday night, Italian-American artist Arturo Di Modica had the 2.5-ton sculpture installed near Amsterdam's stock market building. Like the one he gave to the city of New York in 1989, the bull is a symbol of optimism in economic hard times.
And just as he had no permission from New York to place his bull near Wall Street, he did not bother asking Amsterdam City Hall for the necessary permits either.
No bull, no way
But unlike their counterparts in the Big Apple, city bureaucrats in Amsterdam have decided that the bull will have to be removed immediately.
In financial terminology, a "bull market" refers to an optimistic mood among investors and traders, which usually results in better performance on the exchange.
Photo opportunity
The bull near the New York Stock Exchange was allowed to stay and has become a tourist attraction. During the recent Occupy Wall Street protests, police were stationed at the statue to provide around the clock protection from vandals. The police have even taken on the unofficial role of photographers for tourists posing in front of the bronze sculpture.
"It may be intended as a funny move, but the statue must be removed as of today," Amsterdam officials are quoted as telling news agency ANP. "No permits were issued and on Friday there is an event planned on the square." Officials were not swayed by the fact that the bull in New York has been allowed to remain in place. ANP quoted a spokeswoman for the Amsterdam stock exchange as saying the sculpture "is beautiful, standing in the heart of the Dutch financial district."
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Blah blah about bull. Why can't we all just enjoy the bull. Shit, man, it's art!
It needs hard-wiring with software that will make it eat gold straw and then an hour later discharge its waste on the square. That will make the square hum. Tourists will love it !
Get rid of it. Its evil. Baal. Molek.
What's the price of scrap bronze metal in Amsterdam?
The bull in NYC was placed in front of the NYSE on Broad St in the middle of the night within 4 minutes while the security guard was making his rounds. It was applauded the next day by the public, but, as with the bull in Amsterdam, it was removed and impounded. People complained because it is a symbol of good fortune in the financial world, so the city placed it at the present location outside Bowling Green. The security stantions around the bull remain from the Occupy Wall St demonstrations and should go, but the city apparently feels differently. I do not believe the city owns the bull, the artist Arturo Di Modica still does. Several years ago the artist created a similar, though not identical, bull for the Chinese. It can be found on the Bund in Shanghai.
After a second thought Amsterdam bureaucrats are looking for a solution, together with Amsterdam Fund of Arts. Probably it will be moved to a less visible place on the square. Later they will decide if they keep it or not:
Source (Dutch): http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/83661/bronzen-stier-mag-toch-blijven
Yeah! because we all need more bull from the banks!
Faster this fetish object for the greedy is removed, the better.
Methinks the officials need to relax. If it attracts tourists, just one more reason to leave it there.
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