Giant Nude Woman Could Grace US Capital

Festival wants to install 45-foot-tall statue on National Mall
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2017 2:47 PM CDT
Updated Oct 7, 2017 10:46 AM CDT
Giant Nude Woman Could Grace US Capital
   (Vimeo)

It's entirely possible that tourists visiting the National Mall between November and March will be treated to views of the White House, the Washington Monument, and a 45-foot-tall, 16,000-pound naked woman. The Washington Post reports organizers of the third-annual Catharsis on the Mall festival are seeking permission to install "R-Evolution," a statue by Marco Cochrane, for four months. A spokesperson for the National Park Service says they are reviewing the proposal, and it's "plausible" the statue gets the go-ahead. The Mall has hosted long-term political art installments in the past. Organizers of Catharsis on the Mall, described the Burning Man of DC, are seeking $90,000 in donations to erect the statue and volunteers to monitor it 24 hours a day once it's installed, according to Fox 5.

"R-Evolution" is made of steel mesh and rods, NBC Washington reports. It was first displayed at Burning Man in 2015. Cochrane says he created the statue as a statement against violence against women, inspired by a childhood friend who was sexually abused. “We need to show women just being in their bodies, just being humans, as an antidote of the constant sexualization of the women's body, the constant dehumanization,” Cochrane tells the Post. "R-Evolution" depicts dancer and singer Deja Solis in a yoga mountain pose. Solis posed for two other statues for Cochrane that were also displayed at Burning Man. Catharsis on the Mall runs Nov. 10 through Nov. 12. The theme for this year's festival is equal rights and "nurturing the heart." (More National Mall stories.)

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