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| Installation of the Government of the People |
Jacques Lipchitz, one of the most acclaimed and innovative
abstract sculptors of the twentieth century, was commissioned by the City of
Philadelphia to create public art pieces that would go on to become a
significant part of the city’s notable outdoor sculptures. One of the
pieces, Government of the People, would be one of the artist’s most
popular and controversial pieces in the United States. The Government of
the People was Lipchitz last public commission in the United States. The
statue was created in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. It was installed in 1976 and was placed on the
corner of Broad Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard at Municipal Services
Building Plaza, opposite of City Hall. The sculpture itself stands over forty-five
high in the plaza made of bronze with a granite base. According to
Lipchitz, the sculpture depicts a family (father, mother, two children)
supporting a young couple at the top, which is to symbolize the hope for the
future. Also at the top of the sculpture, the couple holds a banner that has
the seal of the city of Philadelphia. Included with the sculpture is an
inscription which states: “symbolizing family life “the wellspring of society,
the hope of the future” and the concept of government being of, by, and for the
people, this sculpture is dedicated to the people of Philadelphia.” The public,
for the most part, was in favor of the piece since it depicted a positive
message of hope and success for the future. Even though many Philadelphians
were in favor of Government of the People, the sculpture did come with some
controversy.
Controversy:
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| Article : Controversy between Mayor Rizzo and FPAA |
The Government of the People is also Lipchitz’s most
controversial piece in the United States. The sculpture coincidently looms over a realistic statue of Mayor
Frank Rizzo who bitterly opposed its placement in Philadelphia. The mayor at
the time, Mayor Frank L. Rizzo, was not a fan of the piece and stopped funding
the project during its installment. Supporters of this piece like the
Fairmount Park Art Association, led by R. Sturgis Ingersoll, stepped in and
fought for the complete installation of the sculpture. Almost nine years later,
they succeeded in having the work on public view in time for the nation's
Bicentennial in 1976. Complete story can be seen at: http://libproxy.temple.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=vth&AN=26276571&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Why destroy
it?
I feel as though the piece is one big depiction of irony. The
piece is supposed to be of hope and strength of the people. But if you look at
the sculpture, all you see is people “squished” and crushed against each other.
A piece that is suppose to depict a people powerful enough to pursue the
future, oddly has the people smashed together to the point where one would say
they are stifled and constricted. The piece reminds me of the phrase “crabs in
barrel” where there is no room for the growth and hope for the people of
Philadelphia. With the amount of people in the sculpture and the way they are
orientated would make an observer believe that the people are hopeless and
stuck; the opposite of the meaning Jacques Lipchitz gave to the piece.
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| Government of the People put in place |
The inscription for the Government of the People states
that the concept of the sculpture is of “government being of, by, and for the
people”. But if the general concept of the piece is depicting a
government of the people, then why are the people in the piece all kneeling and
in mangled orientations? For the piece that is supposed to be uplifting for the
people of Philadelphia, I again find it ironic that the people are in positions
that are usually symbolized restraint, conformity, and pain. In the piece,
you see no faces, no people standing upright and no sense of strength that
would expect to see in a people who have a “bright future”. Instead, the people
in the sculpture look like they are hiding from something, or holding each
other back from something. At first glance, I believed this piece was a
depiction of some type of fear or anguish. Once I read the inscription and the
background information, I was very confused on the ideas Jacques Lipchitz was
trying to project in the piece.
Public Art
in Film:
The placement of
public art in film has always played a major part in the symbolism and meanings
the director tries to get across to their audience. Film is all about imagery,
and even though the audience may not know the background history of a piece,
public art has always been a great way to set the mood of a scene, and place a
story in a certain location. It is crucial that the right pieces are used
during filming in order to get the right point across to everyone watching.
Like in the case of Government of the People, my interpretation of a
scene may be entirely different from one of a Philadelphian who knows of
history of the piece based solely off the look of the piece in the film.
