GIANT PIGEON SCULPTURE OVERLOOKS NEW YORK FROM THE HIGH LINE

In New York City, a new enormous beast has taken control of the intersection of 30th Street and 10th Avenue. This intimidating animal is an enormous pigeon, but it has a profound message about perception, legacy, and future worlds. Dinosaur, a 16-foot sculpture by artist Iván Argote, stands tall on the High Line, commanding a commanding view of the city's bustling streets.

“For almost 20 years, I have worked about different dynamics in public spaces, exploring how we relate to others and our connection with the city,” Argote stated, ”I’ve also spent a lot of time questioning the meaning and symbolism of the monuments we have. Throughout this journey, pigeons have been an omnipresent figure. I created several videos featuring them and explored their unique attitude and our strange relationship with them.”

The artist therefore thought it would be intriguing to make a pigeon the focal point of his proposal for the High Line Plinth. Argote explains, "I wanted to use this to ask questions about marginality, our relationship with other species in the city, and what an iconic monument for New York in the 21st century might look like." 

"Pigeons have amazing abilities, a humorous disposition, and intelligence. They are very devoted, very adaptive, and can navigate almost like they have GPS. Numerous videos of pigeons performing incredible feats can be found online. They are easy to be inspired by.”

To him, naming the piece Dinosaur has the goal of expanding the meaning and opening up new interpretations “Like them, one day we won’t be around anymore, but perhaps a remnant of humanity will live on—as pigeons do—in the dark corners and gaps of future worlds.I believe that the people of New York might experience an uncanny sense of seduction, attraction, and terror as a result of this sculpture. “