For the High Line, artist Paola Pivi has created "You know who I am," a large-scale cast bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty wearing various cartoonish masks. The masks are stylized portraits of individuals whose personal experiences of freedom are directly connected to the United States. The masks will change every two months, representing six different people over the course of the exhibition.
This video shows the production of the sculpture at Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, a bronze casting foundry established in Milan, Italy, in 1913. This replica follows a direct line to the original sculpture by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. To create a scale replica, Pivi worked from a historic plaster cast of the original bronze model created by Bartholdi himself, which is now on view at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
For more information about Paola Pivi's "You know who I am," visit the High Line's website: www.thehighline.org/art/projects/paola-pivi/
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Directed by Roberto Graziano Moro
Edited by Corrado Perria
Music by Karma Culture Brothers
Fonderia Artistica Battaglia aims to share their historical expertise in artistic bronze, initiating contemporary artists into the practice. You know who I am was Pivi’s first artwork cast in bronze; the team at Battaglia guided her throughout the fabrication process.
Paola Pivi, "You know who I am," is made possible, in part, by an in-kind donation from Matteo Visconti, Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, Milan, and support from Perrotin and Massimo De Carlo; with thanks to the engineering firm Pro Iter, Milan.
The title "You know who I am" was conceived by Karma Culture Brothers.