Last month, the Jezebel staff learned of Marco Cochrane, an artist whose expertise seems to be erecting giant sculptures of naked women to, somehow, combat female oppression.
His website reads:
...Marco learned respect for oneness, balance and the imperative to make the world a better place. In particular, he identified with the female struggle with oppression and saw feminine energy and power as critical to the world’s balance. In his 20s, on a dare, he explored sculpting and discovered both his ability to capture human emotion and energy and the power of art to amplify.
One naked sculpture, part of his “Bliss Project,” was intended to “change human consciousness around the need to end violence against women now and expressing appreciation and respect for feminine energy and power that results when women feel free and safe.” Okay, sure!
Cochrane’s sculptures, which are made of welded steel rods, have appeared frequently at Burning Man, but last month he set out to install one of his works at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. He wanted to place his signature giant naked lady, which stands 45 feet tall, at the event “Catharsis on the Mall” in early November to promote female equality. And the National Park Service responded: nope.
In a statement given to the New York Times the service says the statue is “inconsistent with established resource protection guidelines and the public’s use and enjoyment of the National Mall.” According to a lawyer for the group fighting to install the sculpture, the group “received no indication of anything disqualifying in our permit application until the media began reporting on the story.”
Ultimately, the parks service regional director says, the statue would damage the Mall’s turf and that putting the statue there would likely “have an adverse effect on the aesthetics, including the cultural identity, of the area.”
Giant naked woman... Washington, D.C. never really knew thee. Just think of all the tourists who could have come upon her, confused, wondering which President she was supposed to resemble? Think of all the disgruntled teenagers on field trips who would take lewd selfies of her in which they’re pinching her nipples (or something)? Think of all the men who would learn about female equality/gendered violence by gazing upon her steel ass? Giant naked woman statue, you will always have a place here, at Jezebel, in our hearts, forever.