Last summer, I had the pleasure of working with Sofia Maldonado as part of Real Public, four public art projects commissioned by Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut. Sofia created a mural on the façade of the Pelican Tattoo building in the Frog Hollow neighborhood titled Hey Shorty! Tu tienes novio? (Do you have a boyfriend?). The mural’s intent was to portray the rural and floral landscapes of Puerto Rico and Latin America while celebrating the diversity of the women in the community. She thought of this project as a way to revive the female attitude towards life, youth, motherhood, and community recreation.

Frog Hollow is a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood. Before creating her mural, Sofia spent over a month in the community meeting with residents and local business people. She invited women from the Lily Nail Salon to adorn the exaggerated nails on her wooden cutouts before they were installed on the Pelican Tattoo building. There was such excitement about her project in the community. Many of the residents and business owners would come outside to watch her as she worked. Her work truly exemplified community spirit. Within this community, the mural’s depiction of women was a non-issue.

For Sofia’s mural to evoke such a negative response in a place like New York City where diversity is celebrated is surprising and disappointing. Sofia’s work is not limited by mainstream expectations of positive representations of women, but instead reaches deep into communities to find strong women who DON’T conform to those stereotypes.

I commend the Times Square Alliance for their support of Sofia’s work. Organizations such as these ensure that artists can stay true to their intentions and express their ideas in unexpected, sometimes controversial ways.

Hear the artist and Glenn Weiss of the Times Square Alliance talk about the mural in their own words...

part one: http://looseworld.com/blog/2010/01/29/looseworld-x-sofia-maldonado-part-1/

part two: http://looseworld.com/blog/2010/03/14/looseworld-x-sofia-maldonado-part-two/

The first commenter describes the mural as "public displays of immorality."

Wow, I'm not used to hearing this kind of Puritanism in New York City. I'd much rather see something colorful like this than a billboard depicting a buncha suits.

And of the 4 people walking by the mural, how many are actually looking at it? Absolutely none, so not sure what all the fuss is about. Personally, I'm all for scantily clad Latina and Black chicks!

so only suitcases and cell phones are deemed civilized by these ignoramus? please shut the fuck up. This is how the young women of color do often dress and perhaps if these assholes are ashamed of that culture then they should teach their daughters to dress better. But don't try to hide them in the closets. REPRESENT ALL!!!!

I think its funny, gives people the smug feeling that NYC still has some sort of culture despite the fact that most of them would never dare venture out of Manhattan

I don't mind the mural. It does look a little Dr. Seuss, though.

Funny. That was exactly my first thought.

The Times Square Alliance should have never apologized. That's like apologizing for having Latino & black communities in non-Manhattan NYC. Tourists don't get to take over Times Square.

Someone should get out there and tell all the tourists who've taken over Times Square.

Wow, a 1993 comment from the Gothamist vaults!

it looks fantastic. to hell with the hate - if there is any section of new york city in desperate need of some actual artistic expression and skill, it's times square. good move to whoever set this project up and much respect for the artist.

Wow, the Person that drew this must be feeling really good about all of this attention.

scantily clad black and latina women? who wants to see that shit? i see enough of that shit on the streets and subways, along with thugs and bums who as a whole bring down the overall quality and experience of this city. might as well have drawn pictures of thugs and bums and call it art. if you really want to do something positive for the black/latino community, first work on strengthening, developing, and advancing your culture and community and THEN maybe consider putting it up on the walls of the city as art. don't just put out whatever garbage of a lowly "culture" (underachieving, panhandling, drugs, fighting, murder, pimping, prostitution, you call that culture?) you have and call it art for everyone else to be forced to see. it's detrimental for both sides.

So the best way to promote part of a culture is by pretending it doesn't exist? That doesn't sound right at all.

'scantily clad black and latina women? who wants to see that shit?" - Are you for Real?

While your handle suggests that you may be a white supremacist Jewport is in fact the real thing.

i thought only black people and trailer trash smoked newports... oh wait...

Just point me to the nearest Starbucks.

To cut to the chase, I think:

It's uncomfortable to see what are arguably sexist representations of women in a public context. However, this artwork and its initial discomfort is complicated by two factors:

1. It's made by a woman. That invites us into the idea that there is a critical thought behind what's being presented. Does that matter so much in the realm of public art? I dunno.

and

2. The sexism that we see in the piece is a representation of the sexism adopted by certain communities, in this case non-white communities in NYC. That's freaky. For a liberal white person like me, it's incredibly uncomfortable to say that individual communities need to retain their character and creativity even when those communities embrace things that are incredibly offensive - ex. hip hop/rap with its misogynistic, homo-hatin' and everything else culture.

No two might be feeding back into number one, maybe not.