On a trip to Palm Springs in 2012, I was able to see the temporary outdoor installation of Forever Marilyn, by Seward Johnson. The 26' tall statue was based on a famous photo by Bernard of Hollywood taken when Marilyn was filming “The Seven Year Itch”:
The statue was taken down in 2014, and immediately the cry to have it return began. Sadly, this did not happen before Johnson’s passing in March 2020. According to the Forever Marilyn webpage:
She was officially welcomed back on June 20, 2021 at a special ceremony drawing hundreds of supporters and fans – and will now, at last, be a permanent feature of the Palm Springs landscape.
Yup…there’s a backside, too. This just doesn’t seem right. I would think that Johnson could have come up with a more tasteful rear view.
Ever wanted to see Marilyn’s feet up close? Looks like she already needs a pedicure.
I love how the sunshine illuminates her face; I was too lazy to wait until the Palm frond shadows completely disappeared.
And how Marilyn looks first thing in the morning; not bad!
Nearby on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, Marilyn has her own block:
The new location is definitely more dramatic. Perched on Museum Way in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum, the walk leading up to Marilyn is lined by Palm trees. Every time that I walked by Marilyn was drawing a crowd of tourists attempting to get a selfie with the icon.
See more Palm Springs photos at my main website.
3 comments:
That's great to hear it's back full time. I was dyin' at the IG pics you posted. So awesome. Those were the only logical poses to make with her statue, I mean if people are going to take pics with predictable poses in front of the Leaning Tower or Pisa then Drewcy nailed it.
Dave, thanks for this post. I'm glad to see the statue returned.
I was somewhat involved in the design and construction of the new Rowan Hotel, near the initial location of the statue, and I was disappointed that they removed it as part of that development. It seems like a natural fit for Palm Springs.
I don't know all the story of course, but wouldn't be surprised if there were more to a complicated backstory.
JG
JG: I think initially the statue was intended to be temporary, but I could be wrong. The new location is cool, and there is definitely a sense of arrival as you walk up to it. The original location was interesting, too, especially when the shadow of Marilyn would appear on the nearby wall. The Rowan looks cool - definitely on my "must try" list!
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