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A colossal pigeon sculpture will soon land on the High Line
Most New Yorkers encounter pigeons every day and don’t pay much attention to these ubiquitous birds often maligned as “flying rats.” But this new pigeon—a 16-foot tall aluminum version—will be impossible to ignore.
Called “Dinosaur,” this colossal pigeon will find its perch on the High Line this October, replacing the current Old Tree sculpture currently on view. This artwork by Iván Argote isn’t just a hyper-realistic rendering of the bird; instead it will challenge traditions of who and what we monumentalize, as well as explore ideas around migration and the long view of history. The pigeon statue was one of the most polarizing proposals when High Line Art shared artwork suggestions a few years ago, so it’s sure to ruffle some feathers.
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The statue will perch atop a 5-foot plinth meant to resemble the sidewalks and buildings that NYC’s pigeons call home. From its perch, the astonishingly lifelike gray bird will lord over the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Street in Chelsea not far from Hudson Yards.
“Dinosaur” reverses the typical power dynamic between bird and human, as the avian will tower over the countless pedestrians and cars that meander below its feet—much like we do over them. The meticulously hand-painted, humorous sculpture challenges the grandeur of traditional monuments that celebrate significant historical figures, instead choosing to canonize the familiar New York City street bird.
“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,” artist Iván Argote said in a statement. “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 piece reminds viewers that, to some degree, everyone is an immigrant. Even the pigeon, a New York fixture, initially migrated here and made the city their home, like millions of other “native” New Yorkers. Pigeons first arrived in the United States via Europe, likely in the 1800s.
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They were used for food, kept as pets, and presented as symbols of beauty and wealth based on their plumage, but above all, they were used as reliable message carriers. Pigeons have an internal navigational mechanism—known as “homing”—that allows them to always find their way back home. This skill made the bird indispensable in war. They were even used as military messengers in both World War I and World War II, saving hundreds of soldiers’ lives by transporting messages quickly to both the trenches and front lines. Many of these pigeons received gallantry awards and were celebrated as war heroes, before technology eventually rendered them obsolete.
Humans’ perceptions about pigeons have changed over the years. But these birds bear witness to the city’s evolution, and the sculpture seeks to confront us with our ever-changing relationship with the natural world and its inhabitants.
“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.”
“Iván has a charming ability as an artist to take something familiar and make us consider it anew in profound ways. His sculpture for the High Line Plinth adds a critical yet funny perspective to the ongoing dialogue of public art,” Cecilia Alemani, director & chief curator of High Line Art, said in a press release.
“Dinosaur” is the fourth commission for the ongoing Plinth program, a landmark destination for public art in New York City, following Simone Leigh’s “Brick House” (2019), Sam Durant’s “Untitled (drone)” (2021), and Pamela Rosenkranz’s “Old Tree” (2023). Argote, a Paris-based, Bogotá-born artist who currently has work in the Venice Biennale, is the youngest artist for the Plinth and the first from the global south.
When Argote proposed the pigeon concept, many comments from New Yorkers poured in, with people expressing either affection or disgust for the creature. Love it or hate it, “Dinosaur” will be on view from October 2024 until April 2026.
Deepak Chopra is leading a massive free yoga class in Bryant Park
When it comes to wellness gurus, few are bigger and better known than Deepak Chopra, a prominent and controversial alternative medicine advocate who wrote the incredibly successful book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old.
On September 11, Chopra is joining iconic yogi Sarah Platt-Finger to host a giant, free yoga asana session in Bryant Park.
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The communal, once-in-a-lifetime yoga session will start at 5:30pm and will begin with a seated breath work meditation to foster peace and healing, followed by a 40-minute yoga asana session led by Platt-Finger.
“The IN-Chopra Yoga Certification is a culmination of my life’s work,” Deepak Chopra said. “Together with Sarah, we have created a simple, spiritual, and profound practice based on The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga and grounded in the belief that yoga is the perfect prescription for self-realization and freedom from suffering. I am honored to lead and guide the country’s largest free outdoor yoga class, which is part of Bryant Park’s summer-long yoga series. This event, held in the heart of New York City, focuses on healing and hope for the city’s yoga community.”
It’s worth noting that Chopra has been a controversial figure for his approach to wellness and his career as an alternative medicine advocate. He’s a major part of the New Age movement and believes that we have the capacity to slow down and even reverse aging. Although the scientific community has criticized Chopra for his beliefs in the past, he has amassed a cult following that most notably included the late Michael Jackson.
The appearance by Chopra and Platt-Finger is part of a series called Bryant Park Yoga presented by the fitness brand CALIA, which offers free yoga classes with renowned yoga instructors all summer long. If you want to check them out, they host their free sessions every Tuesday at 10am at the park’s Upper Terrace and Wednesdays at 6pm on the lawn. Starting in September, the Wednesday evening classes will begin at 5:30pm, and the series will continue until September 25.
Iconic Upper West Side cinema Metro Theater might soon re-open
Back in 2005, Upper West Siders mourned the closure of landmark cinema Metro Theater at 2626 Broadway by 99th Street.
The venue first debuted in 1933 and, over 70 years after that, owner Albert Bialek decided to shutter the space because what he deemed to be an “obsolete” building couldn’t “compete with the bigger multiscreen house,” as he said to the New York Times in 2006.
Fast-forward to 2024 and the landmark destination may soon be infused with new life: independent film producer Ira Deutchman and U.S. representative of French film promoter Unifrance have joined forces to create a nonprofit corporation dubbed Upper West Side Cinema Theater that could, potentially, buy the space and resurrect it as the Metro Cinema Center.
Bonus points: according to an official press release, celebrities like Griffin Dunne, Ethan Hawke, Martin Scorsese and John Turturro are on board with the project, which seeks to restore the theater into a five-screen movie house “featuring movie classics, foreign films, independent hits and Blockbuster new releases.”
Also on deck: an on-site education center and a café/lounge that will open to the street and welcome both ticket-holders and passerby.
This isn’t the first at redeveloping the building. In the past, interested parties have tried to turn it into a gym and even an Alamo Drafthouse, also a cinema.
According to the New York Times, the current proposal by the Upper West Side Cinema Center isn’t the only one on the table, although it’s certainly the “most fully developed.”
For what it’s worth, our fingers are crossed.