If a Statue Could Talk, What Would it Tell You?
In an effort to animate and revitalize the past, documentary filmmaker David Peter Fox has brought his interactive initiative, Talking Statues, to New York City. It's a multidimensional project that brings New York City’s history alive by allowing passersby to scan a barcode near a statue with any QR reader on their phone, and then receive a "call" from the statue. By Friday, 35 statues throughout the five boroughs will be able to call New Yorkers after they scan the barcode.
The statue briefly explains his or her story, and in some cases, relationship to New York. Some statues even address modern-day misconceptions such as Giovanni da Verrazzano being the first European to arrive in New York instead of Henry Hudson, and Christopher Columbus’ “discovery.”
Christian von Dehsen, said he used to teach history in a college and he thinks the mixed media project is a great idea.
“A lot of contemporary students have no sense of history, " von Dehsen said. "I think this is a wonderful way to introduce them to Christopher Columbus."
Talking Statues was originally a Danish project founded by documentary filmmaker David Peter Fox in Copenhagen. Over the past three years, the project has expanded to London, San Diego, Berlin, Chicago and other cities.
New York City's edition is especially unique because Fox’s grandmother migrated from Russia to New York in 1922. She lived in the Bronx, where she raised two children. Fox said because of her, he wants the project to be centered on the city's diversity.
“I wanted to make a project here that was so close to the DNA of New York, so I wanted the statues to speak all different languages,” Fox said.
The statues speak 18 different languages, representing 20 different nations. The narratives were written by bestselling authors and playwrights and then recorded by different actors. Fox worked in collaboration with the New York City Parks, the Italian American Museum, the New-York Historical Society and the Burns Society of the City of New York.
For more information about New York Talking Statues including a map and list of actors and writers, click here.
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