It's not my monkey. It's not my circus.

What's the meaning behind the title of this sculpture, "It's not my monkey. It's not my circus"?

I think it refers to peripheral situations and events when others seek to draw you into the drama. Often, it's really none of your concern. Read this passage from Jon Cryer. This could explain it too. What do you think?


My mom was a very productive playwright. I remember a poster for one of her shows. It was at Columbus Circle and all the subway stops in New York. The poster was a picture of my mom putting up her own poster. That was the joke of the poster. It was always a victim of graffiti. Sometimes my mom got her teeth blackened. Sometimes she got a mustache, or little word balloons filled with filth that my mother would very rarely say. What I learned was that when you're an artist, you put stuff out there. The feelings people have about it are out of your control.

Jon Cryer