“Public Sculptures, Private Sentiments” - Alexander Schinis
Statues, sculptures, monuments — they can be found all about New York City like so many flecks of pepper in a freshly made salad. While they are placed in public places for the sake of public viewing, many of these statues hold private meanings unto themselves. The example I have chosen, pictured above, is a memorial to the sinking of the Titanic and is found in Straus Park on the West Side. The statue is placed in the park not only for aesthetic beauty, but also in remembrance of a couple who passed away in the Titanic tragedy.
The statue, the image of a woman dressed in classical garb, sits on top of a fountain of water. This can be seen to signify the ship itself. It is, in fact, a statue of the mythological Titania, the namesake of the mighty Titanic. Her expression is not one of sorrow or remorse, but one of reflection and contemplation — silently remembering the many lives lost at sea on that fateful night. Placed as it is in a public place, the casual onlooker can observe any number of these details. However, The statue also represents the private, final moments of the victims of the Titanic sinking; as such, it is the perfect example of a public work of art with private sentiments attached.
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Cultural Map
"The Original Topography of Manhattan Island from the Battery to 155th Street" From Report on the Social Statistics of Cities, Compiled by George E. Waring, Jr., United States. Census Office, Part I, 1886. (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas-Austin)
