ink-stained wretches

Post Shocked by Art Installation It Already Knew About

The Post is angry today. We know, we know, the Post is angry every day, but this time it has a very striking image to go with its source of rage: a sculpture out on a ledge of the Empire State Building that looks, from a distance, like a man readying to leap to his death. The sculpture is part of a series of nude metal men hidden in and around the Flatiron District, which is meant to inspire and amuse viewers. The paper is shocked — bold-type, shadowbox-font-on-the-wood shocked — that “boneheaded” sculptor Antony Gormley could do such a thing, which apparently scares passersby and “wastes NYPD time.” (Apparently ten — TEN! — 911 calls have been made about this since March.) But the thing is, the Post has known about these sculptures for over a month now, in fact, they told us about them on March 7, even warning us then, “don’t be alarmed.” On March 10, they calmly told readers not to “jump to conclusions” about the lifelike sculptures on roofs in the Flatiron district. But now, according to the paper, the art “is ON THE EDGE OF INSANITY.” See, the problem here is obvious. Gormley’s sculptures are of nude men. If it were nude women causing a public ruckus and wasting police time, the Post would have loved it!

Art is on Ledge of Insanity [NYP]

Post Shocked by Art Installation It Already Knew About