Students at Wellesley College in Massachusetts are a bit freaked out after seeing a half-naked man standing in the middle of campus. The sleepwalking man is a life-like statue part of a museum exhibit opening Thursday, Feb. 6, ABC Chicago.
The structure, called "Sleepwalker," is of a man with his eyes closed and arms extended in a zombie-like trance. The president of Wellesley said the artwork, which was placed in a busy area on the campus, is "all part of the intellectual process" and was created by sculptor Tony Matelli at the college's Davis Museum.
However, a number of students don't like the "man's" presence and have started an online petition to have it removed. According to ABC, over 300 students have signed the petition started by Zoe Magid, a junior at the school.
The sculpture is a "source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault," the petition reads.
In a joint statement, President H. Kim Bottomly and museum Director Lisa Fischman, said it's highly unlikely the artwork would be removed despite students being uncomfortable with it.
"The very best works of art have the power to stimulate deeply personal emotions and to provoke unexpected new ideas, and this sculpture is no exception," the statement read. "[The structure] has started an impassioned conversation about art, gender, sexuality and individual experience, both on campus and on social media."
Fischman said the life-like statue was purposefully placed outdoors so it would get a reaction from the students and the community.
"I love the idea of art escaping the museum and muddling the line between what we expect to be inside (art) and what we expect to be outside (life)," she wrote.
Bridget Schreiner, a freshman at Wellesley, told the Boston Globe that she was initially "freaked out" when she saw the statue. She told the newspaper that she thought it really was a nearly naked man roaming around the campus.
"This could be a trigger for students who have experienced sexual assault," she said.
However, other students were not put-off by the statue.
"I find it disturbing, but in a good way," English professor Sarah Wall-Randell said. "I think it's meant to be off-putting. It's a schlumpy guy in underpants in an all-women environment."
The exhibit opens Thursday, Feb. 6 and closes July 20.
