Posted on 09/06/2006 1:41:40 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Fists high, Rocky statue makes comeback
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago
PHILADELPHIA - Rocky Balboa — or more specifically, a statue of the Hollywood palooka, boxing gloves raised in triumph — is being restored to a spot outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the winner by a split decision in a bout between fine art and pop culture.
Despite complaints that the statue is piece of kitsch undeserving of display near Renoirs and Monets, the city Art Commission voted 6-2 Wednesday to move the 2,000-pound bronze out of storage and put it on a street-level pedestal near the museum steps.
The steps were the setting for one of the most famous scenes in Sylvester Stallone's 1976 movie "Rocky" and have been a big tourist attraction ever since, with visitors to Philadelphia imitating the Italian Stallion's sweat-suited dash to the top. (Of course, after bounding up the 72 steps and pumping their fists in the air like Rocky, the tourists often turn around and leave without setting foot in the museum.)
The 8-foot-6 Rocky is expected to be on his granite pedestal in time for a dedication ceremony Friday.
"We're thrilled," said city Commerce Director Stephanie Naidoff. "What more wonderful a symbol of hard work and dedication is there than Rocky?"
The two commission members who voted against the move, artist Moe Brooker and University of the Arts president Miguel Angel Corzo, said the site was inappropriate.
"It's not a work of art and ... it doesn't belong there," said Brooker, a professor at Moore College of Art and Design. Rocky's battle to the top "is a concept, it is an idea, and ideas don't need justification in terms of objects."
Corzo suggested that he might resign from the commission over the vote, saying that placing the pugilist near the museum goes against the commission's desire to "raise the standards of the city."
He said the issue for him was not whether the statue was art, pointing out the debatable aesthetic value of some of the Philadelphia museum's works — for example, a porcelain urinal by avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp. But he questioned whether Rocky deserved to be neighbors with sculptures such as Rodin's "The Thinker," which sits nearby on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
But the majority of commissioners who approved the move said Rocky has become synonymous with Philadelphia.
"This is not art as it has been defined by aesthetic" standards, said commissioner Emanuel Kelly, who scored the fight for Rocky. "But in terms of this as a cultural icon over 30 years, it has beared the test of time."
The sculpture by A. Thomas Schomberg was commissioned by Stallone for a scene in "Rocky III" (1982) and also appeared in "Rocky V" (1990). After the third Rocky installment, Stallone donated the statue to the city — and the real fight began.
The statue was installed at the top of the museum steps, but was removed after just a few months when museum officials and art aficionados argued that it was merely a movie prop and that its "exaggerated proportions and caricature" would sully the internationally renowned museum's image.
After much bobbing and weaving, Rocky was moved to a spot at the city's sports stadium complex in South Philadelphia. It was moved again and eventually warehoused after filming began on the latest installment of the saga, "Rocky Balboa," which hits theaters in December.
This week's dedication ceremony — with the flesh-and-blood Stallone expected to attend — caps a week of festivities celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original "Rocky" movie. The events include a Rocky and Adrian lookalike contest and outdoor boxing matches.
Stallone's publicist in Los Angeles, Michelle Bega, did not immediately return a call for comment. Art museum spokesman Norman Keyes had no comment.
Reached at his Colorado studio, Rocky's sculptor said he was happy the statue has a permanent home where "the city and the people of Philadelphia can enjoy it."
"I think the location at the top of the steps certainly would have been fabulous, but I'm also pleased with the current location," Schomberg said.
Rockey VI Thanksgiving week!!
Sylvester Stallone, left, portraying movie
character 'Rocky;' and Tommy Morrison , as boxer 'Tommy
Gunn,' reenact a scene from Rocky V under a statue of
Stallone on the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps in
Philadelphia, in this Jan. 27, 1990, file photo. The
city's Art Commission approved a plan Wednesday, Sept.
6, 2006, to return the statue--currently stored in a
warehouse--of the big-screen boxer to a site near the
steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.(AP Photo/Chris Gardner)
Looks like art to me.
Something about these "artists" that irks me.
If someone showed up at an art festival with a display of dog crap sprinkled with AIDS tainted blood, these people would defend it and complain if it wasn't funded with tax dollars.
Artists really annoy me sometimes. Some guy can put poop in a can and that's art, but a statue of Rocky, That's NOT art. Didn't some pretentious artist try to claim 9/11 was art?
That recent "art" has denigrated the history of art shouldn't be an excuse to have a movie prop considered art.
Makes me want to commission a statue of Bob Ross for the museum just to really get their goat. >:D
That statue is more artistic than many of the things we fund through the NEA.
Is the statue about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with platform heels and soles? ...and long jerry curls?
It's a vanity piece for a movie star. It's an embarassment that people want it in that place. If it was of the same quality and of George Clooney those backing it here would be completely against it.
Such a statue would be interesting and true to life (in the '50s), if it were wearing a button-down shirt of shiny, synthetic material and in the process of doing the chicken in front of a street corner candy store.
Half of the 'art' that is created is an embarassment. Bookers' own stuff leaves a lot to be desired.
A few years ago I kept driving around and pausing in the circle below the staircase, waiting for my son and his friend to emerge. Numerous people went up and down the stairs. At one point or another EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM raised their fists in triumph over their heads.
As these are presumably the artest of the art fans, the decision is obviously a correct one.
Virtually any American soldier.
"It's not a work of art and ... it doesn't belong there," said Brooker, a professor at Moore College of Art and Design. Rocky's battle to the top "is a concept, it is an idea, and ideas don't need justification in terms of objects."
Corzo suggested that he might resign from the commission over the vote, saying that placing the pugilist near the museum goes against the commission's desire to "raise the standards of the city."
And here we have 2 people who open their mouths and prove to the whole world they are complete fakes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.