Michelangelo's David is coming to New York City! Except, not the real one... a larger, golden version will be brought in on a trailer next Tuesday. The massive recreation was created by Serkan Ozkaya (who holds an MFA from Bard College) in 2005, and will eventually be brought to the 21c Museum, who "commissioned the 30-foot-tall sculpture’s journey from Istanbul to New York." Following its stop here, it will head on to its forever home in Louisville, Kentucky. Precisely where one would imagine a 30-foot-tall golden David to live. To catch a glimpse of what we hope becomes a roadside attraction in Kentucky one day, free up some time next Tuesday:
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Results tagged “statue”
Photo: Massive Golden David Statue Will Visit New York City
Finding Herman Melville's Birthplace On The Anniversary Of Moby Dick
One hundred and sixty years ago to this day, Herman Melville's masterpiece Moby Dick was published by NYC publisher Harper and Brothers, but wasn't immediately embraced by everyone, receiving mixed reviews. If you're a fan, you can celebrate its anniversary by visiting Melville's birthplace, right here in New York. The author was born in 1819 to a well-off importer named Allan, and his wife Maria Gansevoort Melville, in a boarding house at 6 Pearl Street. The spot is now marked with a plaque and bust, but can be difficult to find. No worries, Inside the Apple is here to help.
16-Ft, 5,000-Lb Commemorative Statue Seeks NYC Home
A 16-foot bronze statue of a Special Forces soldier on horseback will be unveiled at today's Veterans Day parade, but after its trip up 5th Avenue, the 5,000-lb artwork's future is still up in the air.
George Washington The Tourist Coming To Union Square This Weekend
This summer Brooklyn artist Leon Reid IV launched a Kickstarter to support his project: dressing up the George Washington statue in Union Square as a tourist. At the time, the Parks Department said they didn't allow dressing up public statues... yet today word comes in that it's all happening this weekend. That's right, this Saturday George will be donning an "I ♥ NY" hat, a subway map, and local shopping bags... but like all tourists he's only here temporarily, leaving around 8 p.m. that night.
Is The Statue At McGolrick Park Pooping, Or Just Sitting Awkwardly?
Have you ever taken a close look at the statue in McGolrick Park in Greenpoint? No, have you really looked at the tribute to Swedish-American engineer and inventor John Ericsson? Because photographer Katie Sokoler did, and she noticed something rather strange about it: "I guess the sculptor wanted John Ericsson to be remembered for designing the Monitor ship...and for not being able to control his bowels." While we're pretty sure that's his foot awkwardly resting under his buttocks, it is certainly a very poopy-looking foot. Click through to take a closer look at the statue and decide for yourself.
FYI: You Can't Dress Up NYC Statues To Look Like Tourists
Brooklyn artist Leon Reid IV launched a Kickstarter campaign this month in the hopes of dressing up the George Washington statue in Union Square (as he once did with Abraham Lincoln overseas). Specifically, Reid wanted to add props like an "I ♥ NY" hat, a subway map, and local shopping bags to make "a comic reflection of New York's tourist industry and spark public curiosity as to Washington's role in New York City history." Art In Odd Places was hoping to include the piece in their festival in October, and called Reid's work "very intelligent." But the city doesn't think so.
Giant Marilyn Monroe Statue An Up-Skirt Photographer's Wet Dream
A New Jersey artist made a 26-foot tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe's iconic Seven Year Itch pose and put it in... Chicago. J. Seward Johnson's sculpture gives Chicago residents a permanent up-skirt of the actress, which Animal reports isn't sitting well with everyone, being called “risque,” “controversial” and “a monument to sexism.” One Chicago Tribune writer reports back that "men were standing dwarfed between the giant legs of the fake Marilyn, shooting photos of her crotch while one stuck out his tongue to mime a lick." Stay classy, Chicago.
Giant Lobster Mascot Cruelly Stolen From Hamptons Restaurant
At some point yesterday, a crustacean-obsessed bandit (or bandits!) pulled off the crime of the century, audaciously stealing a seven foot, 1000-lb lobster statute that's the mascot of a popular Hamptons restaurant.
Autobot Spotted In Times Square!
Forget all the bee swarms, there's one huge bumblebee in Times Square! Ripley’s Believe It or Not! tells us the Transformers have invaded, and an 8-foot version of Bumblebee, made completely of recycled car parts, is about to be unveiled this Friday. Here's a sneak peek of the autobot, which was hand-crafted in Bangkok, Thailand by artist Anchalee Saengtai. Is there a DIY autobot movement happening in Brooklyn yet?
Bird Week Continues With Giant Decapitated Eagle Statue
Today, The New York Times continues its coverage of Bird Week, a seven-day holiday we never actually knew existed until Tuesday, when Mike Tyson told us all about it. But now that we've been "revisiting the city’s avian history" along with the paper, turns out there's actually some pretty crazy stuff to be found. For example! The tale of the concrete eagle head that rose anew from the remains of the original, not-so-heinous Penn Station many moons ago.
Video: Artist Talks About "The Andy"
Artist Rob Pruitt talks about Andy Warhol, soup cans, and his tribute to the artist: that 7-foot-tall, chrome-finished statue now in Union Square. Pruitt explains his piece and how Andy has inspired him, saying, "What propelled me to New York wasn't just the paintings of soup cans and Marilyn Monroe, etc, but the man himself. I knew that I wanted to live a similar life, and so I came to New York to pursue that dream. It's clear to me that so many of us come to New York to pursue a kind of Warholian dream, so I thought a monument to him... it would be something more than art, it would be like filling a void." (Are people still coming to New York to pursue a Warholian dream? Discuss.)
Abe Lincoln On The Move In Brooklyn
Who knew there was so much statue-moving in our city's history? While some have been banished, others have simply been given a better spotlight. The Abraham Lincoln statue that's been at Prospect Park's concert grove will now be moved back to its old spot at Grand Army Plaza. The park's Eugene Patron told the Post, “We thought he should go back to a nice, prominent spot. It’s more historically accurate.”
Andy Warhol Gets Statue Near His Factory In Union Square
Andy Warhol is getting another extension on his 15 minutes with a life-size statue that went up this afternoon in front of his old Factory studio in Union Square (the one he was at in the 70s and early 80s). Artist Rob Pruitt unveiled The Andy Monument around 11 a.m., at 17th Street and Broadway. He was commissioned by the Public Art Fund to create the 10-foot-tall piece, who tell us it's just "down the street from another Union Square West Factory location, around the corner from Max’s Kansas City—a favorite Warhol haunt—and close to the spot where Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas in 1968." Warhol would also often stand near this spot handing out copies of his magazine, Interview.
Everyone Thinks Selling Queens Statue On Craigslist Is Dumb
Rep. Anthony Weiner's idea to sell a city owned statue on Craigslist was a stupid idea, and now the art experts agree! The Triumph of Civic Virtue statue was originally in Manhattan outside of City Hall, but it was banished to Queens in 1941, nearly 20 years after its debut. The statue has gone neglected and is now need of a makeover, but some locals want it banished again, claiming it celebrates domestic violence. (The statue shows a man, civic virtue, conquering the sirens of vice and corruption... by stepping on them.)
Green-Wood Cemetery Wants To Give Neglected Statue A "Forever Home"
The once-banished Civic Virtue statue that now stands deteriorating in Queens may be banished again, but this time into the more thoughtful arms of Green-Wood Cemetery. The statue originally stood outside of City Hall, but was relocated to Kew Gardens, Queens after Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia complained that it kept mooning him. It has been there since 1941, where it has slowly crumbled. Most recently, Rep. Anthony Weiner said he wanted to sell it on Craigslist.
This Sexist Queens Statue For Your LCD Tix!
The banished-to-Queens statue that's been dubbed an eyesore and sexist is back in the news today. Apparently Rep. Anthony Weiner wants the city to sell the statue on Craigslist! According to the Daily News, the decaying statue, which depicts a naked man stepping on two women (sirens!), could better serve the community by earning it some cash.
Harlem Doesn't Like Statue Of Slave-Operating Vagina Doc
Dr. J. Marion Sims is credited for finding a treatment for vesicovaginal fistulas and inventing the Sims' speculum, revolutionizing modern vaginal surgery. But Harlem residents say a statue of the doctor, which was moved from Bryant Park to around 103rd Street and Fifth Avenue in Central Park in 1934, has no place in Harlem. Why? Because the doctor tested his treatments on three slave women with no anesthetics. City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito said the memorial needs to be re-evaluated. She told the Post, “As time goes on and history is re-evaluated, some of these individuals who have been memorialized will be rightly challenged."
Banished Statue Has Become Eyesore in Queens
The Frederick MacMonnies sculpture overlooking Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens, Queens has had a controversial life (of almost 100 years). At first, the statue—called Civic Virtue—upset women because the naked man was shown stepping on two figures of the fairer sex... but they were sirens, and this man was simply conquering both Vice and Corruption. The statue remained in the city, but was banished to Queens by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Now it seems the city has neglected the big guy, who has not been able to conquer old age and natural elements on his own; the Daily News is now deeming him an eyesore.
Have You Touched This Attention-Grabbing Statue?
According to the NY Times, Botero's sculpture of Adam in the lobby of the mall at the Time Warner Center (next to Williams-Sonoma, and not far from the Eve sculpture) is a deep, dark shade of brown. Adam's penis, however, is worn golden, due to all the... handling.
Sad Elephant Stomps Way To Coney Tomorrow
Tomorrow at noon PETA will bring their Sad Elephant sculpture to Coney Island in protest of the opening of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus opening there (last year they only brought a few signs). The statue was created by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, and its proper name is "Ella PhantzPeril." It depicts a shackled baby elephant and includes the inscription "See Shackles, Bullhooks, Loneliness—All Under the Big Top." It will remain there all summer.
Bloomberg Defends Suicide Statues
Mayor Bloomberg is defending the "Event Horizon" public art project that has recently led to unnecessary 911 calls. The outdoor installation features cast iron statues of human figures, bolted to the ledges of buildings—like the Empire State Building, where just last month a man jumped to his death.
Suicide Statue Causes Chaos At Empire State Building
Remember when the Madison Square Park Conservancy was all: these statues of life-size men bolted to ledges of tall buildings in midtown won't cause panic amongst the masses below? Well the public art installation is proving to do just that.
Here Comes Tut!
As mentioned in our indispensable daily events newsletter, the 25-foot Egyptian god Anubis has taken over New York waters today. Officials insist this isn't some sort of Trojan Horse trick or signal that we are all going to be mummified soon—it's merely a promotional tool for the upcoming “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit (tickets on sale today!). The last time Tutmania hit the city was in 1979, when 1.8 million visitors flocked to see his treasures... and Steve Martin addressed the phenomena on Saturday Night Live, calling it a "national disgrace the way we have commercialized it with trinkets and toys, t-shirts and posters." Watch:
Wax Obamas on Display in NY
Today Michelle Obama joined her husband, when a new wax statue of the first lady was unveiled at Madame Tussauds' in New York. The Barack figurine arrived a year ago, and likenesses of the presidential pair already stand at the London and Washington D.C. branches of the wax museum, reported AP. For the moment, both Obamas are wearing formal attire—Michelle has on the white John Wu number she wore to the inaugural ball—but in two weeks they'll swap the outfits for casual wear. According to the museum, Michelle will wear a "mint green J. Crew skirt and an embellished cream cardigan," while her husband will switch his tux for a business suit. How do you take off wax pants, anyway? We certainly can't imagine cerebral, no-drama Obama melting them.
PBR Landmark Now in NJ Landfill
The massive Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle in New Jersey, a deteriorating symbol of Hipstericana, has been moved to a junkyard just off the New Jersey Turnpike. The 60-foot-high bottle was chopped into about six pieces after standing tall and proud for over 70 years atop the brewery off the Garden State Parkway. While the "managers at recycling company, which demolished the defunct Pabst brewery in Newark's West Ward for redevelopment, didn't want to talk about the dislocated landmark they now own," there are plenty of folks making offers on the pieces. One man, a New Jersey Institute of Technology professor and curator of the school's gallery, offered $500 for the cap and planned on somehow making it into a dining room table! However, it was estimated it would cost around $150K to move and install elsewhere—of course, that quote may have also been based on the amount they estimate they'll get from the steel and copper scrap metal. Meanwhile, isn't there some giant John Deere trucker hat statue out there we can put this thing next to?
Madoff's Missing Statue Found—With Note!
Earlier this week, the scamming investor Bernard Madoff's housekeeper reported that a $10,000 statue was stolen from his Palm Beach estate. Yesterday, the Palm Beach police found it—near the Palm Beach Country Club, where Madoff reportedly wooed many investors to join his Ponzi scheme—and the statue had a note attached.
Rooftop Ronald Wasn't Stolen; Endorses Obama
The owners of the rooftop Ronald McDonald have stepped forward! We received the following email today from one of them (Ali), telling us:
That's my apartment featured in your Ronald McDonald story; it actually was not stolen; my roommate [Michael] saved it from McDonald's garbage one night and then lugged it up five flights of stairs. He's a hero if you ask me.Ronald used to reside near a piano inside the McDonald's but was dumped in the trash by the powers that be behind the Golden Arches. He's got a new lease on life now, thanks to his upstairs guardian angels, and for about a month he's been sittin' pretty on the $6K patio furniture (fact).
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