A sculpture of a golden lean cow was placed this Thursday morning (9), in front of the B3 building, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, in the central region of the city of São Paulo. The image of the scrawny animal is in the same place as the robust Golden Bull, a replica of a sculpture that is in the financial center of the United States and symbolizes the rise of the stock market.
“When I saw the bull, I felt that I should put reality in his place”, said artist Márcia Pinheiro, creator of the urban intervention Vacas Magras and responsible for the installation on this farm. “The lean cow represents hunger, which is the result of poverty in all parts of Brazil,” he stated.
The piece remained on Rua 15 de Novembro between 7:30 am and 11:30 am and was removed from the site at the author’s request, after a friend of hers, who was in charge of the sculpture, was approached by four people who identified themselves as inspection agents.
According to the City of São Paulo, when the team of inspectors from the Sé Subprefecture arrived at the site, the statue had already been removed.
Conceived in 2011, the intervention comprises ten sculptures of skeletal cows and had as its original objective to draw attention to the effects of drought in the Northeast region between 2011 and 2018, according to Pinheiro.
The exhibitions took place in highly visible places on the streets of Fortaleza (CE) over a five-year period, such as shopping malls and the Legislative Assembly.
At this moment, the discussion about hunger is national. According to a survey by the Brazilian Research Network on Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security, nearly 20 million Brazilians have declared that they spend 24 hours or more without having to eat in a few days.
Throughout this year, scenes of Brazilians in search of bones with leftover meat to overcome the lack of protein in the diet have become commonplace. In a recent report, leaf showed that the calango, a type of lizard, returned to the diet of the poorest families in the Northeast.
The famine is a reflection of the deterioration of the economy throughout the pandemic. The poorest suffer especially from the association of rising inflation, falling incomes, a still high unemployment rate and a slow paced recovery.
The lean ox contrasts with the strength of the financial market bull that has fueled many debates since its installation.
On November 16, B3 inaugurated a sculpture similar to the work known as the Bull of Wall Street, located in New York’s financial district for more than three decades, in front of its headquarters, on November 15th.
The Brazilian version was named the Golden Bull, as it was golden. The original piece is in bronze. It is called “Charging Bull”, which means charging bull or bull that attacks.
The author of the work purchased by B3, the architect Rafael Brancatelli, says that his creation does not copy the American one.
The Golden Bull, which was actually stuffed with Styrofoam and covered with a layer of fiberglass and colored with automotive paint, remained in place for just over a week. During this period, he received criticism from activists who linked the image to inequality at a time when Brazil is facing a deepening economic crisis.
The removal took place after the CPPU (Commission for the Protection of Urban Landscape), of the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism, concluded that the sculpture was an advertising piece that did not comply with the rules of the Clean City Law.
Established during the administration of Gilberto Kassab (2006-2012, PSD), the Clean City Law regulated advertising on the streets of São Paulo.
Billboards and paintings on facades that advertised companies and products are now banned, and signs and advertisements identifying activities carried out in buildings and stores have strict size standards.
When evaluating the installation, CPPU members stated that the Golden Bull advertised the brand of its creator, XP partner and president of financial education company Vai Tourinho, Pablo Spyer — also known for hosting the program Minuto Tauro de Ouro, at the Youth Pan.
Other members of the council highlighted, however, that the work attracted the public to the central region, benefiting trade, which had been greatly harmed due to the restrictions created by the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The debate divided the commission, with five representatives voting to withdraw the bull, and four members taking a stand in favor of the permanence.
B3 removed the Golden Bull from 15 November Street on 23 November and took it to a warehouse, without disclosing immediate plans for further exhibition.
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