Thank You, Mr. Bryant

I have always been more intrigued by statues of people than other forms of art. Paintings, drawings, and even poetry are manifestations of the mind of the artist and in the artist’s perspective, but statues are manifestations of the life of the person in the artist’s perspective. There is always some value to seeing how something looks in your own eyes, but I especially appreciate the value in how something looks to someone else. The statue is the one form of art, where the subject which has lived a life, just like the artist, yet has no control or opinion in how he or she is portrayed. Even the subjects in common portraits have some opinion in how their portraits come out in the end, as they are made while they are alive, and mainly serve a purpose to life. However, a statue is meant to commemorate the subject after they have died with honor, and serve a purpose after life.

This picture of the statue was taken in Bryant Park and is actually a statue of William Cullen Bryant. Mr. Bryant captured my interest because I was so accustomed to seeing honored men on horseback, a long second away from riding off into glory and victory for the nation. Mr. Bryant, however, was just sitting calmly in a chair with authority and presence, which was enough to demand my full attention. This is why I was looking all the way back toward him in the photo. He probably could have been portrayed just as glorious as Washington, or Hamilton, but the artist saw it fit to portray him in the same position as everyone else in the park–sitting down in his thoughts.

We can learn a pretty valuable lesson from this.We don’t need to physically stand tall and prideful to reveal the greatness in our lives. At the end of the day, the impression we leave on others is more important than our view of ourselves. Besides, I would never be able to make a statue of myself anyway.