As you all know, I am quite fascinated by the recent art installation in and around Madison Square Park–Event Horizon by Anthony Gormley. The installation is “public art”–naked bodies that are supposed to resemble the artist (self-portraits in a way, I guess). There are “thirty-one life-size body forms of the artist cast in iron and fiberglass will inhabit the pathways and sidewalks of historic Madison Square Park, as well as the rooftops of the many architectural treasures that populate New York’s vibrant Flatiron District.”
How many of you have noticed these bodies? How many of you have stopped and engaged with them? What do you think of this kind of art exhibit?
And, what does this have to do with “happiness”? Although I am not sure if this is what the artist intended, but when I walk to Baruch, these new “friends” make me happy. I like that they disrupt my line of vision and I like how I feel surrounded by them–whether I am looking down, straight ahead, or up. Gormley states, “the gaze is the principle dynamic of the work; the idea of looking and finding, or looking and seeking, and in the process perhaps re-assessing your own position in the world. So in encountering these peripheral things, perhaps one becomes aware of one’s status of embedment.”
What do you think he means by this? Is he sucessful? How can a bronze statue cause a viewer to “re-assess” his/her position in the world?
I have seen only one “naked body” at madison park. When i saw it i was also indeed fascinated by it; in fact i even took a picture of it too. I tried finding the ones that are on top of the buildings but unfortunately I wasn’t lucky enough to find one. I was surprised to notice how many people just walked by the statue and seemed like they didn’t even see it present, as if the presence of the statue didn’t affect them at all. I on the other hand couldn’t stop looking at it and thinking what it was doing in front of the park. What is the artist’s motive in placing these life-size statues on top of buildings and on streets? I feel that with the statues, the artist is making us realize that NYC is known for a fast pace life and many of us fail to stop and look at the environment around us. By placing the statutes, the artist maybe perhaps wants us to stop and take a look at where were are in reference to the statue.