Powerful and Evocative

Hank Willis Thomas’s sculpture Unity, is located on the Tillary Street and Adams Street intersection near the Brooklyn Bridge. Unity is a sculpture of a bronze arm that points toward the sky. Before this trip, when I first looked at this sculpture with no context, I did not think much of it. I viewed the sculpture as an arm pointing toward the sky. However, after learning the title of the sculpture it influenced the way I understood this public work. Learning that this sculpture is titled Unity, I interpreted it as a symbol of equality. The one finger pointing towards the sky signifies how every individual is equal. We are all one; no one is superior or inferior. This sculpture conveys hope and celebrates the uniqueness of the borough of Brooklyn. Moreover, to connect this sculpture to what we learned about abolitionism this piece of art has significance. Compared to every other borough, Brooklyn had one of the largest politically aware Black communities in the United States. Thus, some people interpret this open-ended sculpture to be the arm of a Black person rather than simply a bronze arm. This sculpture shows that Brooklyn has always focused on upward mobility and one's connection to roots. While we are all united and equal, this sculpture praises the fact that we all have ambition and perseverance.

Compared to all the other sculptures we viewed Unity, was my favorite one because of how thought-provoking it was. I like how this sculpture was uniqe in the sense that it did not pay a direct tribute to a specific individual like the Beecher statue, rather it allowed me to reflect on something. I was able to reflect on something which could be anything because of how open-ended the sculpture was. When it comes to Beecher's statue, we need the context of who he was to understand the sculpture. We need to know that Beecher was a minister and reformer during the Civil War era who gained fame in the 1850s for his sermons held at Plymouth Church, in Brooklyn Heights. In these sermons, he used to advocate for the abolition of slavery while holding mock slave auctions to purchase the freedom of slaves. Without this context, people could argue that his monument does not symbolize abolitionism because of the figure of an African-American girl placing her palm on the branch of Beecher’s foot. People do not like the idea of a Black woman looking at someone who appears to be larger than life because it undermines her worth as an African American. Beecher is so high up compared to the African American statues surrounding him so viewers feel dominated over, rather than equal. For some, the statue does not remind them of the movement for freedom, but instead, the statue memorializes racist views of the nineteenth century. Clearly, so many factors play into making Beecher’s outdated sculpture a teachable monument, but Unity allows the viewer to understand the sculpture in any way they want. Leaving interpretation up to the viewer makes the sculpture so memorable and impressive to me.