Semiotics of the Charging Bull

The Charging Bull

1.  What is the signifier?

There are multiple signifiers within this statue.  The first, most obvious, signifier is the simple observation that it is a bull.  Out of all the subjects that the statue could be, they chose a bull so there must be a reason for that specific choice.  Another clear signifier is the size of the bull.  The position of the bull in a charging stance signifies a lot as well, not only just the body position of the bull but the actual physical location of the statue in New York City is not coincidence either.  The expression on the bull's face also has a significant meaning, as well as the bronze metal that it was made from.

2.  What does it signify?

All of these signifiers can be signifying many different things based on individual interpretation.  Before I started this assignment I looked up the location of the bull and learned that it was located in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street in Manhattan, New York.  This makes a big difference on the interpretation of the statue because after confirming the location I quickly thought of the bull signifying as a business icon representing the fast, aggressive "bull market."  That is a literal interpretation but one that I think was intended.  The size of the bull is also obvious and very clear.  To me, this signifies strength, power, and dominance and I think it's trying to reflect that on Wall Street.  The position of the bull I think is also meant to be a reflection on Wall Street.  The bull is positioned as if it were in motion and charging forward, thus reflecting the active, aggressive nature of business in New York.  Not only the position but the intense, aggressive expression of the bull's face makes you quickly correlate those characteristics to the people who work on Wall Street.  The last signifier I noted in this assignment was the observation that the bull was made of bronze.  Bronze is known to be hard and tough, once again signifying that those characteristics can be attributed to the nature of Wall Street.

3.  What specifically supports my analysis?

After analyzing the semiotics of this statue I looked to see if those signifiers were accurate to the true nature of Wall Street.  Sure enough many of the information that I found talks about the aggressive nature of business in New York and especially the fierce competition and intense atmosphere within Wall Street.  So reading about similar analysis' and confirming my assumptions about Wall Street, I found some support in my semiotic analysis.