Pet pigeons in diapers and bird lovers gathered to see the unveiling of this new art installation on the High Line.
The study of New York nightmare just landed on the High Line . It ’s not another threaten cubic decimeter train shutdown or a fourfold - digit rent increment — it ’s a monumental pigeon . Some might venerate the “ so-and-so with annexe ” that cohabitate with New Yorkers by the meg , but this new oeuvre of art is actually a fortune to keep the quintessential New Yorker .
stand 16 feet tall and tower over 30th Street and Tenth Avenue in Manhattan , “ Dinosaur ” star blankly across the metropolis with glowing red - and - yellowish eyes . The hyper - realistic , aluminium sculpture depict a rock dove ( aka an urban pigeon ) and will be perched at the High Line ’s Plinth area for contemporary artwork delegacy until ahead of time next year .
create by Colombian - conduct creative person , Iván Argote , the giant gray bird has hot - pink reptilian feet and boasts a chest of paint fleeceable and royal feather that iridesce under the sun . Its eye are eerie , alive - looking .
‘Dinosaur,’ a 16-foot-tall sculpture of a pigeon, just opened in NYC.|Photo by ET Rodriguez
“ This is a memorial that celebrates the unity who are sometimes invisible , ” Argote told Thrillist . “ We tend to celebrate mostly males , military image , but there is room for [ monuments of ] the ones who are more in the corners or on the outskirts , and our pigeons are an icon for that . ”
Argote grew up in Bogotá , Colombia and recalls walking through Plaza de Bolívar with his parents , a historic center in townspeople known for its politics construction and also for its large congregation of pigeon . Later , when Argote was a performance artist in the street of Paris — where he now rest — those grey-haired Dove tagged along .
“ They were companions , and I palpate it ’s the same for a lot of mass in the city , ” Argote say .
A real pigeon poses with ‘Dinosaur.'|Photo by ET Rodriguez
pigeon have a long history of not only live alongside human being , but of serving them , as well . In Andrew Blechman ’s playscript , Pigeons : The Fascinating Saga of the World ’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird , the author reveals that the winged messenger delivered the results of the first Olympics in 776 BC , brought the word of Napoleon ’s defeat in Waterloo in 1815 , and serve in both World Wars .
Eugene Oda , a clinic managing director and veterinarian technician at NYC’sWild Bird Fund , says they even help Charles Darwin with his theory of evolution .
“ dinosaur called bird-footed dinosaur , including T - Rex , are the unity that kind of evolved into birds , ” Oda , who also owns 20 pet pigeons , told Thrillist . “ What I interpret is that they evolved to be quicker on their base , and as they move faster they strain to use their arms more , and they bulge out growing feather , and finally they start taking leaps . ”
Photo by ET Rodriguez
pigeon have become synonymous with NYC , but are n’t always viewed in a positivist light . In 1966 , NYC Parks commissioner Thomas Hovingcalledthe birds “ rat with wings , ” an unfortunate moniker that has stick to ever since .
“ They ’re one of the most misunderstood creatures , ” Blechman said . “ But they are beloved in nearly every part of the world except for Anglo American culture . ”
It seems that perspective is slow changing in NYC . At the statue unveiling last week , Abby Jardine was out with her one - year - old pet bird , Pidge , who was hiding in her traveling purse . When she ’s at home , Pidge ’s bird bath sits by the window overlooking the street of SoHo .
Jacqueline Quigley and her pet pigeon Frankie.|Photo by ET Rodriguez
Another pet pigeon named Frankie was out to celebrate the new installation tire out a three and a “ flyper ” or a bird diaper . A twelvemonth ago , the baby doll was deliver by the maintenance squad of a edifice in Murray Hill . Resident and documentarian Jacqueline Quigley stumbled upon the Bronx cheer in her research and adopted it with help from the Wild Bird Fund , later on form adocumentaryabout the experience .
There ’s an judge four million pigeon in NYC , and while the urban center ’s Department of Parks and Recreation discourage feed the birds , many New Yorkers have made it a pastime . Like Tina Piña aka@motherpigeonbrooklyn , who fell in love with the birds when she affect here from Texas in the 1980s .
“ I drop about $ 500 a calendar month [ on bird nutrient ] , ” Piña severalise Thrillist , who get extra bird feed from an Amish village . “ I ’m a veridical rooter for the underdog . ”
