|
|
 |
 Gawkers check out the giant statue "Forever Marilyn." The big question may be: Is it cooler under her skirt or a good deal hotter? |
Marilyn Monroe lives on
in statue controversy
By CHUCK McFADDEN
of TheColumnists.com
It’s one of
those iconic movie scenes that no one ever forgets. Marilyn Monroe
is standing atop a subway grate in New York City. Along comes
a subway train, there’s a whoosh, and Marilyn’s skirt
billows up, displaying those great legs.
The movie was “The Seven Year Itch,”
released in 1955. It starred Tom Ewell along with Marilyn. I
seem to remember that Ewell’s character didn’t seem
all that impressed at the sight. Strange.
Anyway, 57 years after the film was released and 50 years after
Marilyn’s death, the Whoosh/Skirt thing is still, um, raising
controversy. A 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn with her skirt
blown upward reigned for almost a year in downtown Chicago’s
Pioneer Court before being dismantled into four pieces recently
and trucked
cross-country to Palm Springs, where she will stay for at least
a year. No word on where she will go after that. Backers of the
Palm Springs site say Marilyn will be more at home there. Playland
of Hollywood stars, and all that.
Designer Seward Johnson’s 40,000-pound statue is uncannily
accurate --white dress, blonde hair, Marilyn smiling. It’s
all very innocent and sunny. At the same time, though, it seems
to me it would be a little creepy to be standing under the thing,
looking up at Marilyn’s panties.
Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn’s husband at the time, was on the
sidelines watching the scene being filmed, and was reported to
be a bit upset about it. Maybe that’s why Ewell seemed to
be so noncommittal.
Some critics said the statue, titled ‘Forever Marilyn,”
was sexist. A tourist website said it was the worst piece of
public art in the world. Others asked what it was doing in Chicago
when the scene was set in New York. But the general public seemed
to like it.
“Everybody’s entitled to an opinion,”
says Melissa Farrell, executive assistant at the Zeller Realty
Group, which commissioned the piece and owns Pioneer Court. “Art
is supposed to start a conversation and we like providing public
art that does that,” she added.
Farrell says “Forever Marilyn” has been a very popular
24-hour installation, drawing more than 40,000 gawkers per day.
“Forever Marilyn” indeed. Say “Montgomery Clift”
“Barry Sullivan” “Van Johnson” or even “James
Stewart” to someone under 40 and you’re likely to draw
a blank look. But mention Marilyn Monroe, and everyone knows
who you’re talking about. The sexpot of the ages. She still
has it. Not too long ago, they made a movie about Marilyn making
a movie.
“My Week With Marilyn” did pretty well at the box office,
probably much better than “My Week with Hedy Lamarr”
would have done.
I never thought Marilyn was much of an actress (and with that
sex appeal didn’t need to be) but she does surprise you.
I have a CD that features her singing “Diamonds Are A Girl’s
Best Friend” and she’s terrific. I thought someone
had done an uncanny job of dubbing until I found out otherwise.
I dunno. I’n not an art critic. But I just got back home
from a trip to Our Nation’s Capital, where there are lots
of statues. And I gotta tell you, Marilyn sure beats a general
riding a horse.
©2012 by Charles M. McFadden. The McFadden caricature is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. This column first posted June 18, 2012.
TO ACCESS CHUCK McFADDEN'S ARCHIVE OF COLUMNS
ON THIS SITE, CLICK HERE: McFADDEN
ARCHIVE
You can comment on this column online via our TALKBACK page. Please address your e-mail message to either "The Editors" or Chuck McFadden at Syndpack@aol.com
|
|
|
Archives |
|
|