As we are on the ferry heading to the Statue of Liberty, I can only imagine the reaction of immigrants arriving in modern America and the first thing they see is this big, tall, green lady holding a book and torch staring off into the distance. It’s as if Lady Liberty is greeting those who are arriving with the essence of freedom, and these unimaginable dreams start to come to life in the search of a new place to call home. As we get closer and closer to the statue, I realized just how gigantic it is, and the fact that it’s in fact hollow, held up by a metal armature inside.
Upon arriving at the statue, we were able to get as close to it as possible by walking up flights of stairs inside, which eventually led us up to the pedestal balcony. Looking up you can see the details of how each copper sheet was welded and bolted together and how over time the copper oxidized. As a class, we talked about how in the 19th century this neoclassical sculpture, designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and engineered by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, was forged into a symbol of freedom, embodying hope and opportunities. This representation of Liberty, with her stability and apparent solidity, gives this sense of what America is about: “the land of the free.” But, this then brings into question, how has the idea of “freedom” changed from then, the mid-19th century, to now? Does this sculpture meaningfully represent freedom for today’s society? While visiting the Statue of Liberty museum, we discussed the contemporary artwork by artist Danh Vo titled “We The People” (2010-2014), which consisted of an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty, but broken into segmented, fragmented pieces and scattered in public parks like City Hall Park. This idea of breaking down something so big, and in some eyes, meaningful to people, asks the question of what liberty actually is, and who, or what, this sculpture stands for. With the pieces being broken apart, it encourages finding meaning from multiple perspectives, allowing room for greater interpretation and more questions.
On top of this excursion, we also briefly ventured to Ellis Island, where immigrants were processed for citizenship. Unlike the museums at the statue, the display at Ellis Island showed more of an archival display, including pieces like individual passports, boat tickets, and letters, which made the history feel more personal. I found myself in awe that there was a moment in history where over 12 million immigrants were processed and given a new life, right in the place where I was standing.
