The Fighting Pride Of Philadelphia; The Rocky Balboa Statue

PMA before the Rocky Statue

The statue of Rocky Balboa, which currently resides at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has been one of the most controversial pieces of public art in the history of Philadelphia. Many argue that it is not art but a "movie prop" and has no place at a prestigious art museum. On the other hand it is a huge tourist attraction that many people have made a real connection to and look at it with pride in the "Fighting City of Philadelphia."
Before the release of the film Rocky III in 1982, Sylvester Stallone commissioned A. Thomas Shomberg in 1980 to create three 10 foot-tall, bronze statues of Rocky. The statue was created under a one year deadline. After the movie was completed Stallone donated it as a gift to the city. This is where much of the debate began to rise.

Many people long debated over the sculpture, some saying to "dump it in the Schuylkill" and others wanting it to stay right where it was because of its iconic presence. City Commerce Director, Dick Doran was overjoyed by the statue and said that Stallone had done more for the city's image than anyone since Ben Franklin. The city was deadlocked in their support of the statue so later in 1982 the Art Commission decided to move it to the Philadelphia Spectrum where they believed it would be better suited. However, In 1990 the statue was moved back to the top of the Museum steps for the filming of Rocky V as well as in 1993-94 for the film Philadelphia, but on each occasion the Statue immediately returned to the Spectrum. The issue then raised that the statue was much off the beaten path for tourists and that many couldn't find it. In 2002, Rocky was moved into storage for the demolition of Veterans Stadium which is where it stayed until the filming of the final Rocky movie. The debate on moving the Rocky statue back to the Art Museum rose again along with its mixed support. The question was raised against the Sculpture by E. Harris Baum, the city's park commissioner, asking where does it stop? He inquired that if there was a movie in Philadelphia featuring Donald Duck would he now require a sculpture? He was pointing at the relevance of other Philadelphia movies and the fact that the Rocky statue does not deserve a place at the Art Museum. On the other hand, Scott Weinberg a lifelong Philadelphia resident had this to say about the sculpture. “…Give Rocky the spotlight. Sure he’s a fictional character, but this character has done more for this city than the last 11 mayors combined. Ask a guy from California what he knows about Philly, and ‘Rocky’ will be one of his top five answers, guaranteed. So what if the statue was initially created as a movie prop? It’s a pretty impressive piece of work all the same. More importantly, it’s a well-known, well-established, and well-admired symbol of this city, regardless of what the Art Experts have to say on the matter…” Then in 2006 for the 30th anniversary of the original Rocky film and the subsequent demolition of the Spectrum, the statue was moved to the base of the Art Museum steps where it can be seen today by a 6-2 vote from the Art Commission.

The sculptor, A. Thomas Shomberg had nothing but good things to say regarding the statue. In an interview he was asked if he could go back in time and do anything differently, his answer was a resounding no. He is very pleased in the legacy his sculpture has left behind. His only complaints regarding the creation of the sculpture were regarding to the time frame. Shomberg is a self proclaimed perfectionist and the short time frame did not allow him to be as detailed as he would have wanted. The statue started as a 28 inch tall model that was enlarged after they got the kinks worked out and Stallone was satisfied with his design. Other artists argue its artistic quality and that a "movie prop" has no place at a museum that houses and displays some of the world's greatest artistic pieces. They believe that it takes away from the professional culture and acts as a distraction to what the museum has to offer. Others disagree with there being many reported cases of people coming from all over the country to see the Rocky statue that have ended up going inside the museum saying that the statue is actually what drew them in. Mayor John Street said at the unveiling ceremony in 2006, that the steps were one of Philadelphia's biggest attractions and that the city proudly adopts the native New Yorker Sylvester Stallone as one their own.

Public art has been used in other films as well such as the Eiffel Tower. The tower has been used in countless films, many times being manipulated to be in a shot that it wouldn't be in. However, it faced much of the same criticism from artists that the Rocky sculpture did. Many artists were questioning its artistic qualities and if it had a place in Paris. The difference between the two is that the tower was built as a historical memorial of the centennial of the French Revolution, so it was not quite as controversial. Something the two monuments have in common is that they are both huge tourist attractions for their respective cities. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid public art in the world. After all the controversy surrounding each one, in the end they both seemed to pay off in spades.

I picked this statue because I thought it was very representative of the city of Philadelphia. As a city, Philadelphia has always been the underdog that fought its way through. Although it is a movie prop, I think the meaning for the people of Philadelphia goes much deeper than the concept of art or prop. It gives the city something to cling to as a sign of triumph and the idea that recipe of hard work and being humble will breed success. The statue is an inspiration to people that even as a nobody you can rise to the top and conquer obstacles. The concept of Rocky to the people of Philadelphia and to the the rest of the world for that matter is symbolic. In my opinion I don't think it would make a difference to most people if it was a great piece of art or some heap of junk because it is the meaning behind it that fuels the hearts of the people. I don't believe that any other film had this type of effect on a city because Rocky is the embodiment of what Philadelphia has always stood for. Public art is used in many films but I don't think that any other pieces could match the symbolism that Rocky represents.