Thomas Schütte’s United Enemies

Posted by Liberation Iannillo on Friday, March 15, 2013 · 3 Comments

If you’re in the mood for some good old fashion justice in the age of corporate corruption and golden parachutes, head on over to Central Park for Thomas Schütte’s United Enemies. Schütte conceived the series during the early ’90s while in residency in Italy when several politicians had been arrested for corruption. Cast in bronze and standing some 13 feet in height, his doomed figures are evocative of times when the crooked were dragged to the center of town and put on display to be mocked and tried in the court of public opinion. The frustrated looking men are paired together, wrapped in shapeless sacks, arms bound by their sides and uncomfortably perched upon a series of wooden supports. Adding to their misery is a grey and blue patina, making it look as though they were splashed with some type of paint or liquid. Justice is served. Thomas Schütte’s United Enemies is on view at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza at Central Park from March 5 – August 2013. The project is courtesy of the Public Art Fund whose mission is to bring contemporary art to the New York City masses. For more information visit www.publicartfund.org.