A Love Letter to Marsha

A Love Letter to Marsha
The sculpture in 2021
ArtistJesse Pallotta
Year2021 (2021)
TypeSculpture
MediumBronze
LocationNew York City

A Love Letter to Marsha is a sculpture featuring the LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson by American artist Jesse Palotta.[1] It was originally erected in Christopher Park along Christopher Street in the West Village section of Manhattan, New York. The monument was completed in 2021 and was notably the first statue of a transgender individual in New York City. The sculpture features a life-size bust of Johnson made of bronze with holes to insert flowers.[2] It is a work of guerrilla art but was later approved by New York Park Services, making it the first sculpture of a transgender person in New York City.[3][4] It currently resides at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.[5][6]

Background[edit]

Petitions for a statue of Johnson in the West Village have existed as early as the 1980s.[7] Transgender activists planned the sculpture following unrealized plans for an official sculpture of Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in 2019.[8][9] It is the city's first statue of a transgender person and the eighth statue of a woman among New York City's 800 park monuments.[10][11][12][13][14] The sculpture was placed several feet away from the controversial Stonewall National Monument.[15] In 2015, activists vandalized the statues with brown paint and wigs for "whitewashing" the Stonewall riots.[16][17]

Artist Jesse Pallotta used a silicone mold to cast the bronze bust.[18] They then had a team of activists erect the sculpture in Christopher Park on August 24, 2021, what would have been Johnson's 76th birthday.[19][20][21][22][23] The group used 150 pounds of cement to hold the wooden pedestal in place.[3] The sculpture includes a bronze plaque with a quote by activist and Stonewall participant Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt: "History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities."[24][25]

In 2022, A Love Letter to Marsha was moved to the in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Browning, Bil (August 25, 2021). "Statue of trans icon Marsha P. Johnson erected in New York City park". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Liscia, Valentina Di (August 26, 2021). "On the Day of Marsha Johnson's Birthday, Guerrilla Memorial Pops Up by Stonewall". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  3. ^ a b ""We Did Not Get Permission": A Discussion With Jesse Pallotta". Hard Crackers. September 26, 2021. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Leonard, Lana (March 25, 2022). "The first transgender activist sculpture in New York City Parks". Out In Jersey. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Andrew, Scottie (August 28, 2021). "A bust of Marsha P. Johnson went up near the Stonewall Inn as a tribute to the transgender activist". CNN. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Leonard, Lana (June 18, 2022). "A love letter to Marsha P. Johnson". Out In Jersey. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  7. ^ "Queer Serial. — Marsha". Queer Serial. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  8. ^ "Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  9. ^ Welch, Chris (August 30, 2021). "Tired of waiting for City Hall, activists install monument of trans icon in Greenwich Village park". FOX 5 NY. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Black, Derek (September 29, 2021). "New York, a statue for Marsha Johnson, drag queen and LGBTQ activist". World Stock Market. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  11. ^ McGreevy, Nora (August 26, 2020). "Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It's Controversial". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "Parks Monuments Dedicated to Women : NYC Parks". nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  13. ^ Carlson, Jen (August 26, 2020). "NYC's First Female Historical Statue Was Unveiled 105 Years Ago. The 6th Just Arrived This Week". Gothamist. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Meier, Allison (July 31, 2015). "The Only Five Public Statues of Historic Women in NYC". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  15. ^ Dansereau, Becky J. (August 25, 2021). "Statue of trans icon Marsha P. Johnson erected in New York City / LGBTQ Nation park". Crane Point. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Browning, Bil (August 19, 2015). "Activists Vandalize New York City Stonewall Monument to Protest 'Whitewashing'". Advocate. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  17. ^ Earnest, Jarrett (November 28, 2018). "Does the 'Gay Liberation' Monument Whitewash Stonewall?". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Davis, Niesha (25 May 2022). "A Love Letter to Marsha, The Spontaneous Statue of Trans-Activist Marsha P. Johnson, Gets a New Home at The Center, in New York". BUST. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  19. ^ Badham, Rachel (August 31, 2021). "Activists create Marsha P Johnson monument in New York". Gscene. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  20. ^ Parsons, Vic (October 6, 2021). "7 powerful pieces of art honouring trans lives and demanding better for them". PinkNews. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Cohen, Rachel (September 20, 2021). "Guerrilla memorial is NYC's first statue of a trans person". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  22. ^ Magazine, BUST (May 25, 2022). "A Love Letter to Marsha, The Spontaneous Statue of Trans-Activist Marsha P. Johnson, Gets a New Home at The Center, in New York". Head Topics. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  23. ^ "Jesse Pallotta: A Love Letter to Marsha". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  24. ^ "Monument Mondays - Jesse Pallotta". SuffrageForward...100 Years & Onward. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  25. ^ Factora, James (August 26, 2021). "This New Statue of Marsha P. Johnson Is Fighting the "Whitewashing" of LGBTQ+ History". them. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  26. ^ "Public Installation: JESSE PALLOTTA: A LOVE LETTER TO MARSHA". The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. May 20, 2022. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
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