This 26-foot Marilyn Monroe Statue making parents with kids feel awkward
Marilyn Monroe, at a towering 26 feet, may be seen at Palm Springs, California, a desert paradise located two hours east of Los Angeles. The late artist Seward Johnson made this monument of the legendary actress in 2011, and it features her in a scene straight out of the film The Seven-Year Itch (1955).
Attracting more than twice as many visitors as the city’s 485,000 people annually, the monument is a popular photo op. However, the artwork has been seen negatively by some people since it has blocked traffic on the street where it is located.
Forever Marilyn has made Chicago, Illinois home ever since it was formed. PS Resorts, a travel firm, eventually bought the artwork in 2020. Later that same month, the Palm Springs City Council agreed to put in front of the city’s Art Museum for up to three years.
The Committee to Relocate Marilyn (Crema) had filed a lawsuit, but on February 23 it was dismissed. The organisation argues that the statue is sexist and that the city has no right to shut the roadway where it is located.
Meanwhile, Palm Springs maintains that it was okay to restrict the roadway for three years because the Monroe artwork wasn’t meant to remain there forever.
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Also speaking out against the monument was Louis Grachos, the former executive director of the Palm Springs Art Museum.
“You come out of the museum and the first thing you’re going to see is a 26ft-tall Marilyn Monroe with her entire backside and underwear exposed” Grachos said, “What message does that send to our young people, our visitors and community to present a statue that objectifies women, is sexually charged and disrespectful?”
Unfortunately for them, the current status quo means that the statute will likely remain in place for at least another year, until 2024 when the three-year timeframe expires.