Sits next to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in Morningside Heights. It is adorned with little bronze statues, the “Animals of Freedom” created by children artists selected in a public competition in 1985. The statues are circling a larger bronze sculpture the “Fountain of Peace”, created by Greg Wyatt, sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral. Laden with biblical symbols and connotations, some peaceful but mostly violent, such as a tranquil Moon and a joyous Sun, Archangel Michael, the Prince of the Archangels and Defender of the Faith, a decapitated Satan (defeated by the sword of said Archangel), a giant crab, giraffes and several other animals all sitting on a pedestal that resembles the double helix of DNA – the tree of life, while four sets of hands rise up from the ground.
Spectacular? Yes
Peaceful? Wouldn’t say so, what do you think?
Morningside Heights,
Manhattan
January 21st, 2017
The Humble Fabulist 