Medusa with the Head of Perseus

Medusa with the Head of Perseus is a sculpture created by Luciano Garbati in 2008. The statue depicts Medusa holding a sword and the head of Perseus, a role reversal of Greek legend. A bronze cast version was displayed in Collect Pond Park, Lower Manhattan from October 2020 to April 2021.[1]

Although it was not created as a feminist work, it was later adopted as a symbol by some in the Me Too movement.[2]

Creation and description

The sculpture depicts a nude Medusa holding the head of Perseus in her right hand and a sword in her left.[2] The original Medusa was sculpted in clay, then cast in resin with fibreglass reinforcements.[3] The sculpture stands just over 2 metres tall.[4][3]

Garbati grew up in a small town near Florence, where Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa is prominently displayed in the Loggia Lanzi of the Piazza della Signoria; he admired Cellini's work, and wanted to reverse the roles of the narrative. In an interview with Quartz, he drew the distinction between Cellini's Perseus and his Medusa; in the former Perseus is triumphant, while in the latter Medusa is determined, and had acted in self defense.[3] He would later state that he was unaware of Medusa's status as a feminist icon at the time.[5]

In New York City

A photograph of Medusa, captioned "Be thankful we only want equality and not payback", went viral on social media in 2018.[6] This image was seen by New York photographer Bek Andersen, who quickly got into contact with an anonymous patron of the arts.[3][7] Medusa was the centerpiece of Medusa With The Head, a pop-up exhibition in the Bowery that ran from November 2018 to January 2019.[8]

Andersen and Garbati later collaborated on an application to New York City's Art in the Parks program. A bronze replica of Medusa was installed in Collect Pond Park, facing the New York County Criminal Court building.[9][10] Some have drawn comparison between Medusa and the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault trial, which took place at the New York County Criminal Court.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Medusa Sculpture Unveiled Across NYC's Criminal Courthouse". Untapped New York. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Cascone, Sarah (13 October 2020). "The Artist Behind a (Very Questionable) Nude Public Statue of Medusa as a Feminist Avenger Defends His Work". artnet. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Griffin, Annaliese (3 October 2020). "The story behind the Medusa statue that has become the perfect avatar for women's rage". Quartz. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Garbati, Luciano [@GarbatiLuciano] (8 July 2018). "Medusa con la cabeza de Perseo - Medusa holding Perseus' head. Escultura de Luciano Garbati, 2.25 mts. Sculpture by Luciano Garbati, 92 inches" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ↑ Ceren Çıplak Drillat (2 February 2018). "Feminist Medusa". Cumhuriyet. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Gershon, Livia (13 October 2020). "Why a New Statue of Medusa Is So Controversial". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Griner, David (12 October 2020). "What the People Behind NYC's Polarizing New Medusa Statue Want You to Know About It". Adweek. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "263 Bowery Pop-up Installation, November 2018- Jan 2019". MWTH. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Di Liscia, Valentina (12 October 2020). "Across From the New York County Criminal Court, a Public Statue Reimagines the Myth of Medusa". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  10. ↑ Jacobs, Julia (13 October 2020). "How a Medusa Sculpture From a Decade Ago Became #MeToo Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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