The monument, The Immigrants, made in 1973 by sculptor Luis Sanguino, located in Battery Park near Castle Clinton is a dedication to all the immigrants who entered America through Castle Clinton. It was funded by the Modern Art Foundry and fabricated by A. Ottavino Corp. This was intended as a celebration of the immigrant community in New York City and includes several different ethnic groups that immigrated to New York. The piece lacks movement and feels heavy, and although all the people depicted in the piece are looking up, it doesn’t feel too positive which was the original intention. I would like to see this the people depicted in a non-hierarchical stance because it seems that some of the people are more important than other immigrants which deduct from the idea of a celebration and more so an oppression.
Monument To the Great Northern Migration, a public art piece created in 1994 by Alison Saar stands tall at the entrance to Bronzeville on the Southside of Chicago. This bronze sculpture was inspired by the great migration of African Americans who traveled to Chicago from the South between 1910 and 19970. The work shows a man, made entirely of worn shoes, holding a suitcase and pointing northward. It was funded by the City of Chicago under Mayor Richard M. Daley. The symbolism used in this work is incredibly effective. The worn shoes that make up the monument do a great job or signifying the journey of African-Americans on their way up North as well as the hardships they faced along the way. The location of the work is incredibly fitting because of the African-American connection to Bronzeville where thousands established themselves as a result of the Great Migration.
