Unconditional Surrender (sculpture)

A version of Unconditional Surrender on temporary display in San Diego, USA.

This statue is a series of sculptures by Seward Johnson resembling a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, V–J day in Times Square, but said by Johnson to be based on a similar, less well known, photograph by Victor Jorgensen.^[1]

Creation

Seward Johnson first built a life-size bronze precursor to the huge statues of Unconditional Surrender, reportedly^{[citation needed]} using computer technology. A 25-feet-tall styrofoam version of the work was part of a temporary exhibition in Sarasota, Florida in 2005, at its bay front.^[2]

He proceeded with the manufacture of aluminum versions of the 25-feet-tall statue, marketing them through a foundation he had created. He offered copies ranging from $542,500 for styrofoam, $980,000 for aluminum, and $1,140,000 for bronze.^[2]

Johnson established "The Sculpture Foundation" to disseminate his work.^{[citation needed]}

Offered to Sarasota

Interest in a revisit to Sarasota in 2009 was cultivated by a director of a bayfront biannual show and an aluminum copy was placed at the bayfront, again temporarily. An "88-year-old donor, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II" offered to pay half a million dollars for it against an initial asking price of $680,000.^[3] While some members of the community supported the statue, others felt the statue was not good enough to be displayed on the bay front. The Chairwoman of the Public Art Committee at the time said that "it doesn't even qualify as kitsch...It is like a giant cartoon image drafted by a computer emulating a famous photograph. It's not the creation of an artist. It's an artist copying a famous image."^[3]

The lesser-known photograph by Victor Jorgensen of the same scene as Eisenstaedt's V–J day in Times Square.

Joel May, a Sarasota architect and a member of the city's public art committee, raised an issue of possible copyright infringement, because of the similarity of the sculpture to Alfred Eisenstaedt's photograph V–J day in Times Square, published in Life in 1945 and still protected by copyright. Johnson said he was aware of this issue, and had used another photograph of the kissing couple taken by Victor Jorgensen, which is in the public domain.^[1]

The attorney for the municipal government said that the attorneys for Johnson and the donor had fulfilled the requirements set by the city commission, making way for exhibition of the statue for at least ten years.^[4]

Crash leads to removal in 2012

An automobile crash occurred on April 26, 2012^[5] during which the Sarasota copy of the statue was struck by a vehicle and was damaged. "The impact knocked about a 3-foot-wide hole out of the sailor's foot [and] added more hairline cracks to its frame.^{[n 1]} This led to the statue being taken down by the city,^[6] which laid the statue onto its side, close to the site, while insurance companies negotiate over liability and repair issues. The minimum distance for a road hazard established by the state of Florida is fourteen feet.^{[citation needed]} Barely meeting that standard when erected near one of the busiest and most complex intersections in the city,^{[citation needed]} the statue attracted visitors who gathered around the base and often backed up to the curb to take photographs. No one was present when the automobile jumped the curb and careened into the statue. Debate about returning the statue to that location has begun, with an editorial calling for moving the statue to a safer location, as had been advocated by critics before the statue was placed for the controversial ten-year display.^[7]

A locally-produced video on one of the men claiming to be the subject of the original photograph was being aired on public television at the same time as the statue was being lowered to the ground. During the same month, a book was published asserting that the true subjects were different from those honored at a grand statue dedication ceremony, where posters with his autograph were sold as souvenirs of the day.^{[citation needed]}

San Diego

The second place to exhibit Unconditional Surrender was in Tuna Harbor Park (neé G Street Mole Park) where the Port of San Diego installed one temporarily in 2007.^[8][9]

Robert L. Pincus, art critic of The San Diego Union Tribune, said that according to "theme-park logic" the statue suited the site, in front of the Midway Aircraft Museum, and that it pleased couples who mimicked the pose, but that it was kitsch and "The figures look like something from a cheap souvenir factory, blown up beyond any reason."^[8]

The statue, made of a foam core with a urethane outer layer, was scheduled to be on loan through August, 2010.^[10] However, it remained installed until May of 2012, when it was dismantled and shipped to New Jersey for restoration.

In March 2012, the San Diego Unified Port District voted to purchase a bronze replacement for the loaner.^[11] This controversial move resulted in the resignation of three board members.^[12][13] Despite the controversy, construction of the new weather-resistant bronze status proceeded, thanks in part to a fundraising campaign by the Midway Museum.^[14] The bronze "Unconditional Surrender" statue arrived to its new home on February 11, 2013, and was bolted into place two days later.^[15]

Hamilton

A third Unconditional Surrender, on loan from Johnson's "Sculpture Foundation", was installed in Hamilton, New Jersey.^[16] Writing up this event, a staff writer for The Trentonian described Unconditional Surrender as a "masterpiece".^[16]

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

In August, 2011, a life-size version of the statue was unveiled in Waikiki and later taken to Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor where it will stay to commemorate the 66th anniversary of WWII’s end.^[17]

Notes

1. ↑ It is illustrated in this photograph

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Unconditional Surrender (sculpture).

• SNN: Unconditional Surrender sparks debate, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Video; requires plug-in.
• Ralph Graves, "Reject 'copycat' sailor statue", Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 21 August 2009.