Every day, visitors from around the world flock to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, not just for the artworks inside, but to see a statue of Rocky Balboa, a fictional boxer. This statue has become a significant attraction.
For many years, the museum seemed distant from this kind of admiration. However, it is now embracing this connection and welcoming Rocky. This weekend, the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” opens to showcase how this fictional character turned into a real-world symbol of perseverance and resilience, contextualising the statue within Philadelphia’s broader cultural landscape. Guest curator Paul Farber created the exhibition after years of studying the statue’s meaning and the role of public monuments.
The exhibition covers over 2,000 years of boxing imagery, highlighting a common theme of struggle. Louis Marchesano, the museum’s deputy director, noted that the way people connect with the human body in conflict has remained consistent throughout history.
Initially, the museum resisted having the statue on its steps after the Rocky films were released. It was moved to South Philadelphia before returning in 2006. Although it was welcomed back, the museum has had a complicated relationship with it.
Today, around 4 million people visit these steps each year, making it as popular as the nearby Liberty Bell. Highlights of the exhibition include galleries featuring legendary artists from the 1970s and a focus on Joe Frazier, the boxer whose life partly inspired Rocky. When the exhibition ends in August, the statue will move to a permanent position at the top of the museum’s steps, while a statue of Frazier will take its place at the bottom.
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