A Colossal, Hyper-Realistic Pigeon Sculpture Is Flying Its Way To The High Line
We’ve been told the rats don’t run this city, but we’re thinking it may actually be the pigeons that do after getting word that a colossal, hyper-realistic pigeon sculpture will soon land on the High Line.
Okay okay, maybe the pigeons actually don’t run the city, because after all it is fake, but it’s way bigger than us humans, we’ll tell ya that.
From artist Iván Argote the sculpture, aptly named Dinosaur, stands a whopping 16 feet tall. It’s cast in aluminum and will stand on a concrete plinth resembling the sidewalks and buildings that NYC’s pigeons call home.
Dinosaur does a complete 180 of the typical power dynamic between bird and human. While we’re used to towering over pigeons ourselves, the pigeon will instead tower over us as we simply meander like ants below its feet.
Through the sculpture Argote chose to challenge traditional monuments that celebrate significant historical figures and instead canonize the familiar New York City street bird–a bird that truly makes the city what it is.
And considering pigeons first began to arrive in the U.S. in the 1800s–during which time they were used for food, kept as pets and used as message carriers, and presented as symbols of beauty and wealth–we’d say it’s about time a statue was created after one!
Argote stated:
The name Dinosaur makes reference to the sculpture’s scale and to the pigeon’s ancestors who millions of years ago dominated the globe, as we humans do today. The name also serves as reference to the dinosaur’s extinction. Like them, one day we won’t be around any more, but perhaps a remnant of humanity will live on — as pigeons do — in the dark corners and gaps of future worlds. I feel this sculpture could generate an uncanny feeling of attraction, seduction, and fear among the inhabitants of New York.
The pigeon will be installed on the High Line over the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Streets in October 2024 where it will remain on view for 18 months.
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