Well, I have my answer. As a reader noted in the commentary in the last post, it turns out the figure in Madison Square perched atop the Pentagram building is in fact part of an art installation. Artist Antony Gormley is in the process of putting up these life-sized, anatomically-correct sculptures around Manhattan. Sure enough, on my walk to work this morning, I spotted no fewer than four between 22nd Street and 30th Street, and I have to say, I bought right into the game. Instead of ruminating on the inevitable dreary minutia of the work day in front of me, I found myself strolling Fifth Avenue, gazing up at the tall building like a tourist, searching for more of those strangely static, copper-colored sentinels. From the street, the sight of them is quite striking. They all seem to be waiting for some secret signal to dive to their invariably messy demises. I didn't spot any north of 30th street, but perhaps Gormley isn't finished yet (there is supposedly going to be one on the Empire State Building).
As far as I'm concerned, this project is much more compelling than those cows several years back, although I can see how the sight of a human form perched precariously on the edge of a building might give the uniformed viewer pause. I guess that's just part of the idea. Tasteless? You decide.
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