The Statue of Liberty - Essay Example

The Statue of Liberty Introduction The statute liberty is a famous statute located at the heart of the New York City in the United States. The statue is simply a sculpture representing the colossal neoclassic in the Liberty Island of the New York City in Manhattan (Kent 9). The statue is said to have been designed by one of the greatest sculptors of that time, Bartholdi Frédéric, an Italian-French national. The sculpture was dedicated in 1886, being a gift from France to the people of the United States. The statue has been carved in the image of a female figure, robed in a royal outfit, representing one of the Roman goddess, Libertas. It is believed that this goddess represents freedom and in one hand, bears a torch as well as an ansata tabula (which involves a tablet that evokes law). It is on this tablet that the date illustrating the day of declaration of America’s independence is inscribed (Landau 34). At the feet of the statue lies a piece of a broken chain. The significance of this statue is its iconic representation of freedom in the United States; this is actually actual representation of welcome signal to the immigrants that come from other countries. It is believed that the politician and law professor Laboulaye Édouard declared in 1865 that any statue or monument representing the American freedom would have to be a joint project between the Americana and French people, motivated the sculptor of this statue in his design. The sculpture is said to have wanted to honor the union victories in the United States as well as the success that had been achieved in ending slavery and brutality against that immigrants and non-natives in the United States. 2. Formal Analysis The foundation in the making of this statue was supposed to be laid in the Fort Wood, which was an army base that has been disused on Bedloe’s Island, and had been constructed between 1807-1811 (Kent 14). During that time, this station was often used in the recruitment of people to join the civil war. The process of fortifying the structure of the structure was done to represent the shape of star that has seven points. The pedestal and foundation of the statue were aligned in a way that it was to face the southeast direction. In this case, it was meant to greet ships that would be entering into the harbor especially from the Atlantic (Landau 35). The process of making the statue took a long process and much thinking into its design and final shape. It is said that the committee in charge of making the statues commissioned Richard Hunt to oversee and help in the design of the statue’s pedestal. Within a few months of his commissioning Hunt managed to provide a detailed report and plan that was indicating the perceived stages in the construction of the statue. In his report, he made a proposal of a pedestal that was to have a height of 114 feet or 34 m. due to financial constraints, the committee would not sanction the creation of the statue and thus reduced the proposed height of the pedestal to about 89 feet or 27 m. The pedestal design as proposed by Hunt contained various elements of the classical architecture; additionally, it also comprised of Doric Portals and other different elements that were motivated by the Aztec architecture (Kent 21). The statue’s pedestal has a large mass that is highly fragmented with various architectural details; this enhances attention on the statue. According to the particular form of the statue, it has a large truncated pyramid with a square base of approximately 19 m as well as top that takes up to 12 m. A closer look at the statue shows that the statues four sides are identical in terms of forma and appearance (Landau 36). On the doors of the statue located on its sides, ten disks are found on these places according to the proposal that was made by Bartholdi, the sculptor of the statue. In his design, Bartholdi had proposed that coat of arms be placed on the doors; however, this was not done. During this time, the United States had only 40 states; in this case, they could not manage to put all the coats of arms of the 40 states. On each of the four sides of the statue was placed a balcony, which was framed by some four pillars. In his design, Bartholdi managed to place a platform that would be used for observation; this place was located at the top end of the statue’s pedestal. The particular statue rises upon this platform. According to one of the authors that wrote about this statue, Louis Auchincloss, the statue’s pedestal makes an impression of power in the ancient Europe though which the statue seems to rise over showing the essence of liberty in human lives. Over the construction of entire work, the committee put that responsibility on one of the former army generals, Charles Stoney. According to the original plan that had been proposed by Hunt, the pedestal was to be build of pure solid granite. However, financial constraints again made it change it prior plan and instead, the plan was revised to use materials that were easily available. In the final plan, the committee had to settle for the pouring of the concrete walls, this was to reach up to 20 feet in thickness, alongside granite blocks. 3. Category of Visual art that the statue belongs Visual arts are often categorized differently depending on various dimensions in which they are represented. Works of art can be made in three or two dimensional, while others are uni-dimensional. All three forms in which they can be designed help the particular composers of the particular arts to categorize them. It is important to note that in many instances, many people often misunderstand these dimensions of art. In categorizing works of art, often the particular intention of the artist plays an important role (Robertson and Craig 15). Additionally, the way the work of the particular piece of art is applied also enhances the way the art is categorized. The Statue of Liberty can be categorized as a representative art; this is because of the way the statue is applied (Shea and Wade 21). The original intention in the making of the liberty statue was to show that all the immigrants coming from other countries into the United States were now able to enjoy the freedom and liberty that had been achieved with the end of slavery and civil war in the United States. Representative arts are often used to symbolize actual objects or certain themes and concepts in real life (Robertson and Craig 18). They are often used to indicate change of regimes and a new way of life; by seeing these works of art, people are often reminded of the need to adhere to certain lifestyles depending on the particular theme being represented. Additionally, representative works of art are also used to remind people about the important works and contributions of certain personalities in a community or society (Shea and Wade 25). This is the reason why many countries have statues or related works of art that are made in memory of people that played a role in their independence, reforming certain institutions in life and other important aspects of their life. It is important to note that of the many categories of art, representative artwork is the oldest of all. Its particular history can be followed to the days of Paleolithic figure, which was described as “the Venus of Willendorf” in the Greek civilization. From that time, many civilizations began documenting their cultural heritage in different pieces of works of visual arts. This art has been used even in modern time to honor people that influence the course of life to the positive for human societies in various dimensions. The statue of liberty was designed after a long time of people struggling to establish and live the American time. Before and after independence, sections of people suffered from slavery, brutality and hard labor, especially the immigrants and other people that had moved to the United States during the time of slave trade. Many trade unions and activists played a big role in reforming the American society, advocating for a country that respected the rights of all people irrespective of the origin. The independence of the United States was one such milestone in the process of achieving liberty and freedom. The creation and unveiling of the liberty statue was to signify a total change from the oppressive regime, to a life of freedom and liberty by all people residing in the United States. This is the reason why the visual art fits perfectly in the representative form of visual art. 4. Image and style In understanding this work of visual art, it is important that one has to focus on the particular theme that the particular visual art. The statue of liberty is an important element that represents freedom and liberty in the United States and Europe. In the first place, the statue was designed to be a symbol of friendship and peaceful coexistence that existed between the people of the United States and those of France (Robertson and Craig 17). However, with time, the symbol developed to acquire different meanings and interpretations. The statue has been taken by some people to represent the mother for all the exiles, it is designed to greet all the million of the immigrants into the United States while illustrating opportunities and hoe for people that were seeking better lives in the United States. This same expectation has continued to be held by many people going to the United States in search for better conditions of life and greener pastures. It actually represents the entire United States and the value it has for its people and those visiting for various reasons. 5. Influences of the experiences from the statue The statue of liberty plays a crucial role in influencing peoples actions and activities, especially those living in the United States. This is for both the natives of the United States and those visiting the republic for their own reason. First, the particular impression the statue brings on the people is that America is a land that respects the values of all people. It offers opportunities for a better life for all the people, through the liberty and freedom that people living in the United States in their social and economic lives. The statue of liberty, symbolizes the need for care and concern for all people; everyone has needs to fulfill. It is important that the society provide systems and mechanisms by which people can use to live and achieve these needs. The American dream has been crafted in the spirit of liberty and freedom for all the Americans and the immigrants into the republic (Bloom 18). The statue of liberty influences people’s interaction and their way of life in the United States. It defines how workers should be treated in homes and in businesses, such that all people receive equal opportunities for better lives and other forms of activities in the United States and the entire Europe. Besides having such social and psychological significance to the people living in the American, the statue of liberty is a historical monument that fetches income to the United States through tourism. The statue has caused many people to travel to the United States to experience its physical impression and learn its history and cultural heritage. The creation of the liberty statue in the United States has been helpful in influencing the way of life especially for the American people. People visiting the United States and the immigrants can attest to the fact that the American people are very accommodating and helpful to all people. Since independence, the United states has been a home for millions of people that have migrated into the republic in search for greener pastures and other better conditions of life. 6. Conclusion It is important to note that the statue of liberty in the United States has been significant in influencing institutional and individual way of life. At present people in the United States enjoy their social lives because of the efforts of people that thought and created systems that would influence the society. Representative art, not just in the United States, plays an important in helping people identify and live with the basic and lasting values they esteem according to the statue and visual artwork represented. In the case of the United States, the liberty statues was used by people that fought for freedom and liberty among the Americans and the natives to create a lasting impression of the American dream in the succeeding generations. All across the generations that have passed, the American dream has been pursued earnestly, in as much as it has not been achieved in some instances. The bottom line has continued to remain that the statue of liberty brings much psychological and social impacts in the people’s perceptions about America and the kind of life they stand to get in the country. From this statue, it is evident that in future, representative visual art is going to be the best tool upon which societies lasting values can be created, maintained ad passed on across human generations. This is not only for representation of idealism , but also for social realism, which is an important concept in people’s lives in the communities and societies at large. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. The American Dream. New York, NY: Blooms Literary Criticism, 2009. Print. Kent, Deborah. The Statue of Liberty. New York: Childrens, 2012. Print. Landau, Elaine. The Statue of Liberty. New York: Childrens, 2008. Print Long, Declan. Visual Art. Belfast: Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 2011. Print. Robertson, Jean and Craig McDaniel. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print. Shea, Pegi and Wade Zahares. Liberty Rising: The Story of the Statue of Liberty. New York: Henry Holt, 2005. Print. Read More