Protesters Gather For Times Square Mural Takedown

Courtesy of the Times Square Alliance

Seems that people really are offended by this mural! Tonight at 6 p.m. there is actually going to be a protest against Sofia Maldonado's work recently put up in Times Square.

According to MyFox5, the protest will be "big," with many saying the mural stereotypes African American and Hispanic women. They talked to some folks who want it taken down; one Latina woman explained her point of view, saying, "What I want to see is something that motivates me, something that makes me want to be more than I am." And community advocate Tony Herbert agreed; he told them, "Women should be depicted with cell phones and briefcases, that's to show the professionalism of how women have broken the glass ceiling to accomplish what they've accomplished, not to come back to this."

Meanwhile, Maldonado is holding strong, saying that her work is misunderstood, and she just wanted to "represent a female aesthetic that normally isn't seen in Times Square. Women who dress like this should be respected in society the same way as women with briefcases." Speaking of briefcases! No one carries those anymore, right?

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on March 17, 2010 5:02 PM

Comments [rss]

ThePipgirl

This is stupid and it's essentially privileged businesspeople telling a LATINO WOMAN what a respectable Latino woman is. It's purely classist, and probably racist, at least for some of the detractors.

Boogie Down

I think it has more to do with the fact that many people who work in Times Square don't want to be reminded that everybody in the city isn't just like them. NYC is still a very segregated city, and this mindset seems to be a reflection of that segregation. While most of us ride the subway and are exposed to people of different races, cultures and styles every day, this kind of "debate" illustrates how far we have to go in this city to achieve acceptance of others who may make us uncomfortable or challenge us about who we think we are.

GREGORYABUTLER

Exactly!

I suspect this mural reminds some folks of the Old Times Square of the pre Giuliani era - which was a much more People of Color-intensive space than the present Disneyfied tourist friendly Times Square is.

rikomatic

Seriously? That's so incredibly lame.

Just saw the mural today and totally dug the vibe. Times Square needs more of that urban energy and dynamism.

Cannibal

Lets go protest this protest

Wza

Bunch of morons.

God, why are some folks so fucking dumb?

Keep doing your thing Sofia!

gmpicket

Wow. I shot a pic of it recently:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpicket/4427524321/

theboneranger

the people that are protesting this are so incredibly stupid.

art isnt there to just make you feel nice

"cellphones" & briefcases do not "show professionalism"

there ARE people who look like that, do we not look at them?

these people are so afraid of stereotypes yet they're happily jumping right into one by complaining about something they don't understand... and slapping a label on it because it makes them uncomfortable. THAT is called "prejudice".

Kids: cell phones, briefcases, clothes, hair do's do not show who you are. Maybe if people stopped worrying so much about obtaining the accoutrements of status they might actually have the time to enrich their brains and learn a little about art.

Ridiculous.

Clarice City

Sucessful professional women always carry cellphones and briefcases? Since when?

Sofia Maldonado is a successful professional woman. By their own logic, theses idiot philistines should not be protesting a sucessful professional female.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Lol. Send in Hispanic women dressed provactively to join the protest. Oh the irony

ides_of_march

"...with many saying the mural stereotypes African American and Hispanic women."

A lot of those stereotypes can be seen walking around every day.

farleft

She's a Puerto Rican/Cuban artist! Goddamnit people, STFU!

handsomedevil

Bad argument. It's possible for a black cop to enforce a racist policy, and it's possible for the art of a latina to portray negative and demeaning stereotypes. The identity of the person involved doesn't automatically make the action exempt from criticism.

Not that I care about this mural at all.

i2hellfire

"What I want to see is something that motivates me, something that makes me want to be more than I am."

she needs a mural to motivate her? really? sigh i'm understanding better now why they'd be offended then...