Staff Writer
Imagine walking across campus, in a sleep deprived haze, when you see a frozen man in his Walter White tightie whities. This is what students at Wellesley College are currently seeing on the campus of the college, an all-girls liberal arts school.
The man is a lifelike statue called “The Sleepwalker,” by sculptor Tony Matelli, and is proudly displayed in high-traffic areas on campus. While the college is participating in an art exhibit on campus, this is the only piece of art the students strongly dislike.
There is a petition that has collected over 300 signatures, asking that the piece of art be removed. They sight that it makes them uncomfortable. Students had this to say about the sculpture, “[T]his highly lifelike sculpture has, within just a few hours of its outdoor installation, become a source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault for many members of our campus community,” reads the petition in part. “While it may appear humorous or thought-provoking to some, it has already become a source of undue stress for many Wellesley College students, the majority of whom live, study, and work in this space.”
However, the director of the campus’ Davis Museum Lisa Fischman, defends not only the piece of art but also the placement of the artwork, “We placed the Sleepwalker on the roadside just beyond the Davis to connect the exhibition — within the museum—to the campus world beyond,” Fischman wrote. “I love the idea of art escaping the museum and muddling the line between what we expect to be inside (art) and what we expect to be outside (life).”
What do you think readers? Is it creepy, or simply just and expression of art?
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