(WatchDogReport.org) – In 1896, sitting justices commissioned architect James Brown Lord to design the First Judicial Department of the Appellate Division in Manhattan, New York. Since it opened officially in 1900, the court has been serving the public. On top of the building stood several statues representing ancient lawgivers. In 1955, there was a shift in the statues following the removal of the Prophet Muhammad, leaving a space for something new. Now, officials have erected a replacement, and not everyone is happy about it.
On January 25, The New York Times reported that an eight-foot golden statue of a woman emerging out of a lotus flower with horns on her head and a laced collar resembling the adornment worn by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was affixed on top of the building. The statue is the first one depicting the shape of a woman to stand on the court plinths. The Gateway Pundit referred to the artwork as demonic-looking, and the outlet wasn’t alone in that thought.
The artist, Shahzia Sikander, released a statement about her creation explaining the piece she calls “NOW.” She said the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and Ginsburg inspired the piece, as she tried to capture the tireless spirit of women fighting for equality throughout the years.
A new statue atop a New York City courthouse. The artist says it’s part of an “urgent and necessary cultural reckoning underway as New York reconsiders traditional representations of power in public spaces and recasts civic structures to better reflect 21st-century social mores.” pic.twitter.com/4IFRj7hCsf
— Andrew Beck (@AndrewBeckUSA) January 25, 2023
Former senior advisor under previous President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, called NOW a “visual desecration.” One Twitter user said the statue was “terrifying,” while another said the structure looks like it came straight from a “satanic ritual.”
While some might be confused by Sikander’s choices, she indicated the entire statue was shrouded in symbolism. The lotus flower, she explained, symbolized a deeper truth, “awakening, and clarity,” while the horns represent body autonomy. The collar, obviously, was a nod to the former justice.
No matter the public’s thoughts on the artistic work, the statue is not permanently affixed to the building, as the golden statue will only remain until June, when it will travel to another location.
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