I learned about this wondrous sculpture quite serendipitously while in the midst of a Google-rabbit-trail.*
I wanted to create a sculpture almost anyone, regardless of their background, could look at and instantly recognize that it is about the idea of struggling to break free. This sculpture is about the struggle for achievement of freedom through the creative process. – Zenos Frudakis
* My Google-rabbit-trail journey started as a result of watching an episode of Daniel Pink‘s “Pinkcast 3.05: This is how to keep a book of small experiments“. In this episode, Dan’s guest (Author, David Epstein) referenced Harvard University’s Dark Horse Project–“a long-term study of how women and men achieve success by harnessing their individuality”. The Freedom Statue is a featured image on the Project’s webpage. I then found additional information about the actual sculpture (located in Philadelphia) on the Clio website (itself a wonderful “educational website and mobile application that guides the public to thousands of historical and cultural sites throughout the United States”). The sculpture’s info page on Clio included the 5.14 min. video (below) that offers closeup views of the entire sculpture.
As I then continued a bit further along the “Dark Horse” portion of the rabbit trail, I found an article by Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas, entitled “How ‘dark horses’ flip the script of success and happiness”, featuring an excerpt from their 2018 book, Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment.
What dark horses have in common is that they use fulfillment as a path to success–not the other way around. How do they do this? By investigating and understanding their motivations–that is, knowing fully what they want and why they enjoy the things they do. – Todd Rose
Here’s a brief (6.25 min) video with Todd Rose offering further insights.
I’m intrigued by the authors’ perspective–especially in light of my own current practice of making life choices toward joy and wellbeing–rather than more traditional societal measures of material success.
How about you? What touches you–whether about the Freedom Statue or the Dark Horse Project? Feel free to leave your comments (below).
Love this sculpture! Also the reflection on Dark Horses is intriguing. Thanks!
Thanks, LouAnn! Glad you enjoyed them both!
I watched the video about the sculpture and am in awe of the detail, as well as the bigger picture. I love the dark horse analysis – helps my own exploration of making a living and living, where they intersect, where they don’t. Thanks!
Yes, Barbara—thanks for the feedback. So glad they both resonated for you!