Walking
into the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, shoppers are greeted by two
enormous bronze statues which represent a man and a woman, but the question is:
who are they or more so, what do they represent? Many are drawn to the “golden”
features of the statues, but never ask who the two portray. The artist,
Fernando Botero, made the artistic choice to leave his works of art unlabeled,
but after some research, I soon found out that they are meant to represent none
other than the heavenly couple: Adam and Eve.
It was an interesting choice to not
label the sculptures, as they are so popular among shoppers, but the decision I
believe was made purposefully. Not labeling the statues as Adam and Eve gives a
more open-ended interpretation on how to view the two figures. If Botero had
made the decision to label the two as religious figures, it might take away
some of the attention that the statues are currently receiving. People may not take them as seriously
as they do now if they were are labeled as religious figures. They appeal to
those who don’t practice a religion and therefore allow more to appreciate the
works of art.
The massive size of the sculptures put their
meaning into question. Were these sculptures made out to be enormous to show
the immense presence of religion in our society today and the role it plays in
carving out meanings or was it made to show the flaws that we all, as humans,
have? God described Adam and Eve as being human portrayals of himself, claiming
that they were perfect in every way. If Botero wanted to display such a
thought, the two sculptures would have been made out to be the most beautiful
and “ideal” people, but in this case they are shown as two large people, which
isn’t considered beautiful by most in today’s society. I believe that the two
figures show the flaws we all have inside of us, and furthermore explain the
greatest fault known to man: Adam and Eve’s betrayal to God. When Adam ate the
apple off of the tree of knowledge, it ended whatever would have consisted in a
moral society and created the immoral one that we live in today.
The two sculptures are extremely
present as people walk by them in the mall. There is a very slim chance that
someone would miss the statues on their way into the mall. The purpose of their
presence is to overlook all of the shoppers to show how we should think about the
decisions we make. It was an interesting choice to choose a mall to display the
two religious figures and it was done to show how conscious we should be as
people. Making decision are tough, especially when you are surrounded by all of
the things you could ever want in one of the most high-end malls in New York
City. Adam and Eve were enticed themselves by the most wonderful gift in the
world: the tree of knowledge and failed to restrain themselves from eating from
it. Shoppers making decisions on what to buy in the Time Warner Center is
simply a microcosm of the decision that Adam and Eve faced years ago and one of
the reasons the statues may have been placed where they are: in the center of the mall overlooking everyone.
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| Statue of Adam |
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| Statue of Eve |
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