#HERTOO? ‘Empowered Medusa’ to Stand Outside Courthouse Where Harvey Weinstein Was Sentenced.

Those entering the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse: beware. A seven-foot-tall statue of Greek mythological Gorgon, Medusa, will be greeting you. Twitter user Marlene Bonnelly shared the exciting news of the statue’s home on Thursday evening. Manhattan Criminal Courthouse has seen many trials over the years, including the sentencing of Harvey Weinstein.

“Luciano Garbati, the sculptor behind quite possibly my favorite piece of art ever (Medusa with the head of Perseus) just announced that he received permission from the City of NY to install a bronze version of her for the public to enjoy!” she announced. “I AM SO EXCITED.”

The statue “will be on view from October 13, 2020 – April 30, 2021:”

In Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Medusa was a maiden in the temple of Athena, who was stalked and raped by Poseidon. Athena, in a rage, banishes and curses Medusa with a monstrous head of snakes and a gaze which turns men to stone. Medusa is herself blamed and punished for the crime of which she was the victim; she is cast away as a monster and then with the cruel assistance of Athena and Poseidon, eventually is hunted-down and beheaded by the epic hero Perseus, who displays her head as a trophy on his shield. Garbati’s sculpture speaks directly to the 16th Century Florentine bronze masterpiece Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini (1545-1554). Through this work, Garbati asks ‘how can a triumph be possible if you are defeating a victim?’”

To paraphrase J.B.S. Haldane, 2020 is not only stranger than we imagine; it is stranger than we can imagine.