Recently, members of the media ? including yours truly ? have reignited the debate about the monstrosity known as the “Male/Female” statue in front of Penn Station.
Like fruitcake, this statue, which depicts a man intersected with a woman, or the other way around, is a gift no one wants, and it comes without a return receipt.
The location particularly offends, as this so-called example of modern art sits in front of a beautiful, classically built train station.
You cannot take it back to the store, or even to Aunt Ethel?s kitchen for that matter.
You cannot feed it to the cats, either, because, well, even they have taste. So it goes with the Jonathan Borofsky creation “Male/Female.”
I am no modern art hater. In fact, Iseek it out.
Until recently I lived in Manhattan, where I visited the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum.
I traveled to London to visit the Tate Gallery of Modern Art.
Had Borofsky?s statue been placed in front of the Tate ? or even in front of the Maryland Science Center or the American Visionary Art Museum ? I think I would appreciate its worth as a piece of modern art.
But I don?t appreciate it where it sits now.
Something else ? a fountain, for example ? would add to the decor commuters experience with the old-style station and its revolving departure board and classic facade.
The only thing the Borofsky statue contributes to the station is the colorful language people use to describe it.
It is time to do the right thing: Move “Male/Female” somewhere else.
We in Baltimore want to promote artists and accept the modern art movement.
The Brown Center at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the new University of Baltimore Student Center exemplify the spirit of blending new art into the fabric of the old city.
These two modern structures have been well-received by art critics because of their unique, geometric shapes and fishbowl structures; they have aesthetic value while serving a key, functional purpose as active school buildings for MICA and UB.
They do not overtake the landscape, they enhance it.
Borofsky?s statue does not.
It serves no purpose.
The statue is ugly where it is, and that result, I imagine, was what neither the artist nor the arts consortium group that funded it had in mind in the placement of “Male/Female.”
Let?s do our part to encourage art in Baltimore, but respect the community as well.
Move the statue immediately to a place where it can be appreciated, for everyone?s benefit.
Tom Moore hosts the AES Tom Moore Show Saturdays on AM 680 WCBM from 10 to 11p.m. His Web site is www.tommooreradio.com.
