Goddess Worship : Copy of Statue That Fired Beijing Protest Stirs Feelings in L.A.

Photography student John Grammer pedaled his bicycle from Glendale to downtown Los Angeles earlier this week when he heard that a replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue had been erected on a footbridge between City Hall East and Fletcher Bowron Square.

Eager to get some good pictures to send to out-of-town friends, he crawled under the yellow police crowd-control tape that closed off the footbridge, trying to get a better view of the 23-foot-high figure depicting a young Chinese woman raising a torch.

A few photos later, a Chinese woman clutching a compact automatic camera tapped him on the shoulder and asked if Grammer would take a picture of her and a friend with the Goddess.

Hastily Erected

Since Monday when it was hastily erected by a group of artists, the white plastic foam and wood model of the statue that was toppled by Chinese troops in Beijing’s Tian An Men Square has become a touchstone of emotion, luring photographers and gawkers.

Many who amble up to the statue say it reminds them of the American system of democracy. But while some say that they appreciate the freedom that allowed Los Angeles artists to erect the statue, others feel that the freedom the statue brings to mind is meted out unequally and that democracy in the United States can be a relative thing.

Susan Low, a clinical pharmacist at the Veterans Administration outpatient clinic in Pershing Square, said: “In America, we just go through our day-to-day lives--eat, sleep, work--and we don’t realize the freedom we have. The statue reminds me to be appreciative.”

J. P. Ellman, a City Council legislative analyst, said she was surprised that the statue had not encountered more bureaucratic hassle.

‘Normally Isn’t So Easy’

“People in the office who are used to writing motions were surprised to hear it had gone up without approval . . . before the Board of Public Works actually authorized it,” she said. “That normally isn’t so easy.”

The Board of Public Works meets Monday to determine where the Goddess will reside after its one-week temporary permit runs out. The statue was secured with cables after Monday’s 4.5 earthquake and aftershock. The temblors failed to topple the statue.

“It’s great that it got through (the city), even though they said it was a hazard, which it probably is,” said Grammer as he aimed his camera.

“I think it should stay. It fits right in here,” said Matt Buguy, a City Hall computer systems specialist who climbed into the bushes in Bowron Square with a camera strapped to his neck. Buguy was trying to find a vantage point where he could fit the statue and the window of his City Hall East office into a picture to send to his family in Pennsylvania.

Hilliard Holt, 45, had no problems with what the statue represents. “As a symbol, it’s fine,” said Holt, a homeless man who scrutinized the statue from the park in Bowron Square.

‘Harder Here for Some’

“But it’s been harder here for some than for others,” he added.

Holt watched as a man took a snapshot of the Goddess with a disposable camera.

“Sometimes we suffer from too much Americanism,” he said. “Everything good is America--opportunity, equality. Sometimes I wonder if I’m in a free country, how come I can’t get what others have?”

Henry Wilson, another homeless man who stood nearby, interrupted. “But it hasn’t been a one-way street for everybody,” Wilson said.

“It all depends on what avenue you’re on,” Holt replied.