Art board recommends removing Foster statue
Vote unanimous; mayor will review
The Pittsburgh Art Commission on Wednesday unanimously recommended that Mayor Bill Peduto have the controversial statue of Stephen Foster removed from its site along Forbes Avenue in Oakland and placed in a private, “properly contextualized” location.
The next question, according to Art Commission chairman Rob Indovina, is where the city’s Public Works Department will take it once it is removed sometime in the next six months.
“I believe the Art Commission has purview over art that is owned by the city and for things that are in the public realm,” Mr. Indovina said, “so I believe that our recommendation is kind of the final word.”
The mayor’s office issued a statement saying, “Mayor Peduto thanks the members of the Art Commission for all their hard work on this matter, and looks forward to reviewing their findings.”
Foster, who was born in
Lawrenceville, composed some of early America’s most signature songs — including “Oh! Susannah,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Camptown Races” and “Old Folks at Home” — before dying penniless in 1864 at the age of 37.
Sculpted in 1900 by Giuseppe Moretti, the 10foot-tall statue of Foster has long been controversial for its depiction of an AfricanAmerican banjo player at the feet of the seated composer. Critics say the statue glorifies white appropriation of black culture, and depicts the vacantly smiling musician in a way that is at best condescending and at worst racist.
At an hour-long public hearing early this month, Yesica Guerra, the city’s public art and civic design manager, said that nearly half of 126 written comments sent to the commission favored either relocating or removing the statue.
Only a quarter favored leaving it where it is.
Mr. Indovina said he hopes the statue remains in Pittsburgh.
“I would hope that somebody would come forward with an appropriate location,” he said. “Stephen Foster was a native son, and it is appropriate to memorialize him in some way. My personal feeling, however, is that this is not an appropriate expression of his inspiration or an appropriate way to memorialize him.”
The goal, he said, would be to place the statue in an educational and historical context.
Commission member Sarika Goulatia said she was particularly bothered by the statue because “it highlights white supremacy,” but she also would hate to see it vanish.
“I am not in favor of destroying history,” she said. “I would like to see it in an African-American museum where the new generation can learn from it. We still see discrimination. This could be a conversation point of what is still going on in our society today. There is a disparity between white privilege and black people that still exists.
“I think people are in denial of what happened and want to erase it. But what happened in the past has not gone away, and we have to make much more of an effort to heal the wounds of that time.”
The commissioners asked that city officials get back to them with a report in three months.
Deane L. Root, a professor of music and department chair at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Center for American Music, applauded the recommendation.
“The Art Commission has done, I think, an outstanding, commendable job of listening to the public, which is deeply split on this issue, and I think they’ve made the right decision,” Mr. Root said. “I know that it’s been a difficult one and it will not please about half the population.
“But I do think it responds to the deep pain that many members of the community have felt, and for that [reason] I think the action is commendable.”
Dan Majors: dmajors@post-gazette.com and 412-263-1456. Staff writers Adam Smeltz and Bill Schackner contributed.