CBS Chicago Photo Galleries

Marilyn Monroe Sculpture Inappropriate?

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  • TJ

    There is nothing wrong with this display of art. Marilyn is much more tasteful than the booty shorts and thongs, not to mention other body parts that are on display everyday that you come outside. People need to get over it and deal with it.

    • Marygoround

      You’re right, it must be art since she’s showing her crotch just like Michelangelo used to.

      • S Von Smith

        you must be an Idiot.

      • Barbie Dalzell

        ur stupid-u cant c her crotch-get over urself

      • Michelangelo

        You obviously have no idea about classic architecture. Most of statues are representing naked people, even in the famous Sistine Chapel painting you can see Adam’s ding-dong

      • kmr

        and we found a fatty!!

    • Janet

      I have a background in architecture & this looks so real & fluid! Made out of steel? Unbelievable! Love it, love it, GREAT ART! I wouldn’t mind buying a smaller version (lifesize or smaller) to display in my home. For the record, I am female, one of the 1st drafts”men” at Harris County, Tx. Please, artists, make some for sale? I will check internet for them periodically. No, I’m not gay, I could only wish to look like her- she’s just beautiful!

      • Phyllis Duda

        I AGREE- YOU CANT SEE ANYTHING AND IT IS A STATUE !!!!!!!!!! HELLO

    • denise miller

      there is nothing wrong with this wonderful art. HATERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      • ryenotzinger

        Lose the word “haters.” It is as pathetically “popular” and as voguish as “24/7.” Therefore, sounds ignorant and un-original.

      • Barbie Dalzell

        say Haters all u want hun!

  • Jimmie

    depends on if like in the movie her panties are in the freezer?

  • Biff

    “depends on if like in the movie her panties are in the freezer?”

    Wait until January

  • Mike

    Totally inappropiate.

    • Shim

      Mike’s right. How much sex do we need being shoved in our faces? You want a blonde with her skirt up – put it in your living room, not in my face.

      • Corrine

        I agree with you ! No wonder God doesn’t answer our prayers !
        We have replaced him with this ?!?!?!?

    • Oscarphone

      “Shut the F…” My, my. Aren’t you the tolerant one. I love it when the supposed “tolerant” are more intolerant than the original opinion. YOU need to get a grip on how intolerant you are. And a hater.

    • Erica Gieras

      not any more inappropriate then what you see walking down Michigan Ave. in real life! I thought the statue was beautiful. I don’t get what is wrong with it but everyone is entitled to an opinion.

      • Stacey

        There are far more significant people from Chicago that deserve a statue with clothes on. Anyone that calls this art must be from the Kardashian camp.

      • Barbie Dalzell

        cloths r on nothing shows.. whats the real issue here?

    • Will

      Get real this is the reason I’ve served my country…..

    • denise miller

      why?????????????????denise

  • Mary

    Very inappropriate, but then that seems to be what is approved today.
    Whatever shouldn’t be is, and what should be isn’t.

    Terrible, especially for children to see.

    • Annoyed.

      WILL SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?

      Give me a break. Children have private parts, the same as everyone else. Your kids can handle it. Maybe its you who needs to grow up.

      • more annoyed

        give us all a break
        just because you have no moral compass , that doesn’t mean we all should be subjected to your asinine juvenile comments.

      • Troy Larsen

        It’s usually a fine line to be crossed with public art displays. That said, what EXACTLY is so bad about this for children? I imagine most kids would find it funny and NOT titilating, except for teenagers. By that age, though, you’d better be talking to them about what’s going on between their legs more than Marilyn’s. Taking this further, it is a PUBLIC work of art, not a children’s museum exhibit. Yes, children require a bit of protection from the general public, but that’s primarily a PARENT’s responsibility.

        I don’t find this sculpture to be all THAT fantastic, but perhaps is meant to inspire an adult conversation that would be lost on children. It is based upon a famous movie scene, but is depicted as a three dimensional, over-sized object that people don’t just look AT, but look UP at and can INTERACT with. We aren’t privy to her panties in the movie, but definitely are with this monstrous thing. Over-sized panties are funny to most kids, not sexy. Of course, I’m just wasting my time writing this since I’m sure a prudish mind will stay prudish.

        At the very least, the piece will provide wonderful pedestrian protection from a rainstorm with just a touch of comic relief (to those with a sense of humor).

      • Phil

        Very well said troy couldnt agree more. I dont see the issue with this. My brother goes to CSU and they have a statue outside the gym of a Ram and it was full genetalia now I know its a ram but its also a huge pair of nuts on display and thats ok but this is “totally inappropriate”? I don’t get it “moral compass” my oh my people are uptight. Hide in your homes if the female body offends you so much.

    • jackie

      thank you

    • Hue Chu

      It is both the price and gift of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave that we get both what is is and what should not will be. Should you find yourself so morally outraged beyond your sensibilities by others exercising their freedom of expression please book yourself a one way trip to Iran where no one has any freedom to express.

      If we were to make our adult decisions based on what children should or should not see then adults would be limited to drinking milk, eating baby food and sitting around in diapers.

    • Corrine

      I agree with you ! The more we put up with this, the more our children are going to think this is fine ! No more morals ! Worst than animals !

      • GJones

        maybe you should be a parent and actually teach your kids something?

  • mark

    @ Mike and Mary
    Totally inappropriate…no
    Very inappropriate….no

    How about iconic and a reminder of a piece of american history?

    • Progressive Al

      Marilyn’s upskirt is the “American history”? So, those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it? Is that what you imply?

      • jackie

        drug abuse, suicide, adultery, a great history, happens everyday a nice reminder, no good actresses just drug abuse, suicide, and adultery

    • mike

      iconic American cinema, perhaps – American history, surely not. I’d have to see the view from directly under her crotch to voice an educated opinion on weather or not it’s appropriate or not. She does appear to be rather chilly (or perhaps even nipply) in a few of the offered shots (not that I’m opposed to nipples).

      • masry

        Women have nipples?!!! OMG call the nipple removal police!!!!!

    • J Granlund

      If you have kids who watch cable, believe me they’re seeing much worse than a lady fully clothed and showing no inappropriate body parts.

      • thrushjz

        That’s why my kids didn’t watch cable until 14…

  • Kay Hauck

    The same artist who did the American Gothic sculpture last year did this one. Apparently his patron hasn’t appeased his appetite for kitsch yet. Next year we’ll probably be confronted with yet another icon rendered huge and cheesy.

  • J.Kelly

    I say erect a 26 foot statue of New York’s Naked Cowboy right next to her to even things up a bit…of course I mean….. because none of them have anything to do with Chicago…yeah…right!….

    • Jackie

      I’d be all for a statue of the Naked Cowboy! He’s hot!

      • Daily Mayor

        I hope they will erect a giant Snookie to look up to.
        That’ll be American art and history combined.

      • Not Amoron

        How sad when someone says “Snookie” is history. A minor blip on a TV show, not at all comparable to Marilyn by any measure.

      • Annoyed by you idiots.

        Do you honestly believe the Snookie person was being serious? God you people have no sense of humor.

  • tomchicago

    I don’t have any problems with an “inappropriate” art work. Many of them have been and needed to be inappropriate. MM was a symbol of the revolution in sexuality that began more than 50 years ago and is still developing

    • BJ Clinton

      And who is winning that “Revolution”???

      • more annoyed

        satan, that is who

  • Dave

    Garish, tacky, and objectifying, that “sculpture” will live in infamy as the greatest prop for gag photos ever constructed.

    • Dan

      ^somebody’s time of the month.

  • Camera club member

    Let’s see here. Upskirt photography is illegal, even in a public place where there is no expectation of privacy unless I have a signed model release. Shooting a photo of this is upskirt photography. Yet this is legal?
    Do I have to get a model release from the statue? How does it sign the model release?

    • Nathan Maynard

      You’d need a really big pen!

    • Not Amoron

      I guess if you’re a moron, you’d need to do this.

      Thanks for reminding us all of the danger here.

      • JJ

        He may not be a moron since our country is sue happy.

  • Windycity

    I really don’t like it at all. I think her pose in the movie was of course, provocative and that’s fine, but to recreate it in this enormous sculpture that is out there in everyones’ face, well, seems inappropriate and isn’t really very attractive. Not very original either. Take it down!

    • Mike

      Very well said!

      • thruty

        Very well said??? This is just prude talking, go to any museum and learn to enjoy the human body for what it is..a thing of beauty.

    • Mercy

      Her role in the movie was provocative for the time it was in but watching it now it’s completely harmless compared to the teen movies that are out now. People are always worried about “the kids” but honestly the kids never pay attentionto things as such and like it was mentioned before, will probably think it’s funny. Adults need to grow up and be adults, it’s a sculpture of a fully clothed woman who’s private parts you can’t even see! If you want to see distastfullness, turn on Mtv and watch some Jersey Shore and then act concerned about “the kids”!

      • q

        thank you… I’m a teenager, and i can still remember being 6, 7, 8, and my mom taking me to the art institute… I remember not even really noticing many of the statues nakedness as anything special… its only the people who make a huge deal over it that make kids see it that way.

    • Not Amoron

      Not very original, hmmm so there have been plenty of other gigantic Marilyn skirt sculptures in public places.

      Where?

    • GJones

      it’s not in my face so I don’t have a problem with it. The only one I have in my face sometimes is my girlfriend’s…

  • Itsafact

    Inappropriate and not very original. Take it down. It seems a bit lewd or maybe just a bit provocative. Either way, I wish they’d remove it.

    • Daniel

      I think that a half-naked man, wearing a crown of thorns, being nailed to a cross and being brutally murdered is more inappropriate. I would rather let my child see a woman holding down her dress than such a shocking portrayal of violence.

      This shows the hypocrisy of most Christians. Provocative is fine if it’s what they believe in but “TAKE IT DOWN NOW” if it’s not part of their agenda.

      Unbelievable.

      • Will

        I don’t believe the person said they were a Christian, or say anything that would lead someone to believe them to be. Then, of course you needed to make-up a face for your opposition.

        I’m Christian. I don’t find it inappropriate. I could care less really. It’s unimportant, like many things people argue about.

  • JollyGoodFellow

    What if she was life-size and someone crawled to take a peek under her skirt? But she is so tall that all you can see is her crotch. Really tasteful, family oriented and appropriate. Sure, sure.

    • El Presidente

      If the mighty Feminists happily gave their approval, who are you to criticize?

  • WayneLLewis

    So, could someone who has actually seen the sculpture up close from underneath, let us know if it is anatomically correct? Just curious.

    • LittleLaney

      She is fully covered. you see a pair of white lace panties. They cover more than what some of the young girls call shorts these days. People that are in such an uproar spend time at the pool with thier kids, I’m sure of it. So do they have to explain a bathing suit to thier kids too? It’s not an antomically correct vag it’s white panties people. Get over it. If your kids don’t know what underwear are…maybe you have the issues.

  • Mike

    Pathetic is more like it. The idea that we get such a kick out of looking up a skirt that we allow this statue in our neighborhood, outside of our businesses, and even in our city is a sad indicator to how far we have fallen from our grandparents values.

    • Janice

      I would be cautious at using the values of grandparents as an indicator of morality. At least that is the prospective coming from a 30 something African American. 1900-1965 not really a good time for us. Thank God for progression!

    • Mark

      Are you insane?!!! Our grandparents lived under Jim Crow. I’m glad we’re giving up those values.

      • Hue Chu

        Our grandparents lived in the good old days when it was customary for men get drunk (or stayed sober) to beat their wives, children and dog, women could not vote, non-free people were being counted for 3/5 for the purposes of representation and taxes (article I section 2 of the US Constitution), native Americans were marched into reservations so free people could appropriate their lands and people of Japanese descent were imprisoned because of their heritage. So those values are deemed more virtuous than the “loose values” represented by a 26 foot piece of steel.

  • looneytoonsindville

    Inquiring minds want to know – Is the 26 foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe in Chicago wearing underwear?

    • Barry H. Soetoro

      Plumbing covered. Bikini line trimmed.
      Nothing to see here folks, move along!

  • Aleks

    Click on view thumbnails. There are pictures from underneath. Yes she’s wearing underwear.

  • BUNNY

    WHY NOT HAVE A HUGE REPLICA OF MRS> O’LEARY”S COW???THAT WOULD BE INDICATIVE OF CHICAGO. MARILYN MONROE IS NOT!!

    • Barry H. Soetoro

      That would be art for sure though too progressive, since giant cows don’t wear knickers.

    • Arthur Brands

      make sure the cow’s nipples are covered, and would somebody please get that cow some pants?

  • June Saunders

    I was born in Chicago, and I am offended and saddened by the statue. Since the movie incident took place in New York, I see this as a cynical and meaningless appropriation on Chicago’s part for sheer economic reasons, to draw pedestrians and viewers (and spenders). It is exploitation of people’s sexual curiosity, and it is exploitation of a woman whose real flesh has long since become, as Shakespeare put it, “worm’s meat”. Marilyn Monroe’s poor, long gone, drug-ravaged body, beautiful as it once was, never seems to have brought her much true love or happiness, since she died by her own hand. Why do we keep exalting her body as some sort of ideal? Homely women who used their bodies to serve others–like Mother Teresa–died with more deep, womanly satisfaction in their hearts than poor, unhappy Marilyn Monroe. The female human body can be used for many more things than sexual ogling. Let’s honor that once in a while and let poor Marilyn rest in peace.

    • CScogin

      I agree, the female human body can be used for more things than sexual ogling.

      …like cooking, and cleaning, and actual sex, and babies, and WHERE’S MY SANDWICH, JUNE?!

    • Not Amoron

      I guess physical beauty is not to be valued in this world, only spiritual and the inner?

      So that’s your take, I am happy to see art doing what it has always done, challenge and break the norms.

  • rochelle

    I too was born In Chicago, and I think the statue is great.

    An iconic role, and person rolled into one. Marilyn Monroe was truly one of a kind and this shows she is still loved by all.

  • Really??

    Come on, don’t you people get the joke?? It’s a scene from the Seven Year Itch in front of the FIDELITY building!!

  • amos

    Absolutely inappropiate. How are we suposed to teach our girls to be ladies and keep their panties up if we have “ho” statues showing trashy positions. . No wonder we pay higher taxes to fund unwed mothers with the signals we send them.. . esh!

  • Willow

    I say “Inappropriate” but simply because of how big it is and you can see up her dress.

  • William

    Marlyn! It’s so good to see you again,after all these years! And you’re still as beautiful as ever.Still famous after all these years! I’m amazed at your staying power. And guess what,people are still complaining about your sexuality and it’s impact on their moral sensibilities! What power you have!

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