Sculpture of 9/11 victim removed

A statue intended to commemorate those who fell to their death from the twin towers on 11 September last year has been removed from its site in Manhattan after people complained that it was too graphic.

A furore over the work by Eric Fischl began last week when passers-by expressed their outrage. The case for its removal was taken up by New York's tabloid newspapers.

The statue was curtained off on Wednesday at its temporary site at the Rockefeller Centre in central Manhattan and has now been removed.

The work, entitled Tumbling Woman, was unveiled on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon and had been due to stay in place until Monday. It showed a figure falling head first, arms and legs flailing.

It is estimated that about 200 of the 2,801 victims at ground zero perished when they fell or leapt from windows to escape the flames. The majority fell from the north tower.

Fischl, who is from New York, will have the work returned to him when he returns next week from a trip to Croatia. He is known for making shocking pieces. Fischl said: "The sculpture was not meant to hurt anybody. It was a sincere expression of deepest sympathy for the vulnerability of the human condition, both specifically towards the victims of 11 September and towards humanity in general."

The outrage also embarrassed the Rockefeller complex. "We apologise if anyone was upset or offended by the display of this sculpture," a spokeswoman said. "It was certainly not our intent."

Among those celebrating the decision to remove the work was Milokssy Gonzalez, 25, who had relatives in the stricken towers.

"It is tasteless, it's so insensitive. I'm glad they removed it. I'm surprised the sculpture was put up in the first place," he said.

New York has a recent history of public disputes over art. Two years ago, during his term as Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, sparked an intense debate after trying to close down "Sensation", an exhibition of works by young British artists, because it included a depiction of the Virgin Mary plastered in dung.

He was eventually forced to back down after trying to suspend funding for the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which had staged the exhibition.

While the American media has repeatedly shown video and still images of figures falling from the twin towers, the most brutal of them, including the sound of the victims hitting the ground, have not been shown or broadcast.