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A gigantic statue of Marilyn Monroe in downtown Palm Springs is set to be moved following years of controversy and debate.
The Forever Marilyn statue stands 26 feet tall and depicts the famous billowing skirt scene from 1955’s The Seven Year Itch.
Residents have long complained about the statue’s location directly in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum. A GoFundMe site set up to advocate for the relocation of the statue points out that visitors leaving the museum are presented with a direct view of Monroe’s underwear-clad backside: “Welcome to Palm Springs!”
Now, the LA Times reports that Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein has agreed to move the statue to a “location to be determined in the Downtown Park.”
In a statement, Bernstein said: “The City Council is very pleased to have found a satisfactory solution to this issue, which has divided so many within our community.”
The statue is already located in the 1.5 acre Downtown Park, so its new location will not be far away.
Created by artist Seward Johnson and first erected in 2011, the statue has had a troubled history. It left Palm Springs in 2014 and was displayed in Chicago, New Jersey, Australia and Connecticut before returning to Palm Springs in 2021.
At the time, the statue’s return to the city caused uproar. Activist groups protested during the unveiling, and critics described it as “exploitative.”
The placement of the sculpture had been voted for unanimously by the city council, but the last four directors of the art museum publicly opposed and condemned its presence in the area, branding it “blatantly sexist.”
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Former Palm Springs Art Museum director Louis Gracho told The Art Newspaper: “You come out of the museum and the first thing you’re going to see is a 26-foot-tall Marilyn Monroe with her entire backside and underwear exposed.
“We serve over 100,000 school-age children that come to our museum every single year. What message does that send to our young people, our visitors and community to present a statue that objectifies women, is sexually charged and disrespectful?”
The City Council ultimately decided to maintain the statue’s location for three years beginning in 2021. Its new location within the Downtown Park has yet to be announced.
Trina Turk, who organized the Committee to Relocate Marilyn GoFundMe, welcomed the decision but noted in a statement that there are “still many details to be resolved.”
Turk added: “We will not consider this a done deal until the statue is moved to its new location.”
