Diversity In Monuments Isn't Just About Who They Depict -- It's Also About Who Makes Them
Like many parts of the country, New York City has been examining its public monuments and trying to increase the number of women represented. The focus has largely been on statues that depict women, while monuments made by women are often overlooked. Female artists made more than 30 of the 250 works in New York City public parks.
They include the Harriet Tubman Memorial in Harlem, created by African-American sculptor Alison Saar, and the whimsical bronze piece "A Bird Named Goldilocks," by Anne Marie McDonnell, in Staten Island's Clove Lakes Park.
Jennifer Lanzas, the deputy director of arts and antiquities at New York City's Parks Department, said these pieces express their creators' worldviews.
"It is their unique take on the subject matter that draws people in and keeps people engaged," she said. "So we really feel that it's just as important who creates the work as who's honored by a work."
Female artists are behind two-thirds of the artworks that are currently being made for the department, according to Lantzas.
Click "Listen" in the player above to hear her conversation with WNYC's David Furst.
