''Silent Agitator'' is a sculpture by Ruth Ewan. It is currently on display in St Mungo's Square at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. Based on work by

Ralph Chaplin Ralph Hosea Chaplin (1887–1961) was an American writer, artist and labor activist. Background Chaplin was born in 1887. At the age of seven, he saw a worker shot dead during the Pullman Strike in Chicago, Illinois. He had moved with his f ...

, the art installation features a clock and the text "time to organize" below. The work was inspired by an illustration for the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

with the text, "What time is it? Time to organize!" The sculpture was installed along

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway, and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Op ...

, in the

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, from April 2019 to March 2020. In May 2019, Bloomberg's James Tarmy included ''Silent Agitator'' in his list of "New York City's Most Instagrammable Public Art (That’s Not the Vessel)". Inspired by the sculpture, Ewan, the Brooklyn's Women's Chorus, the New York City Labor Chorus, and other performers sang "odes to organized labor" on the High Line at 14th Street, in October 2019.

References

Chelsea, Manhattan Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan {{NewYork-sculpture-stub