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Mysterious Watchers
Event Horizon in Madison Square Park
Photo: James Ewing
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Sitting in Madison Square Park, I get the distinct feeling of being watched. I look up through the tree branches and glimpse figures lurking on top of several nearby buildings, peering watchfully into the park. After staring at them for several seconds, I realize that they’re too motionless to be human—they must be statues. Then I notice a similar statue on the sidewalk just in front of me, and another one farther down the path. Simultaneously benevolent guardians and menacing sentries, once you’ve noticed them you can’t sit in the park without being constantly aware of them. I scanned the rooftops and found several more, all gazing down into the park.
In fact, there are 31 in all, placed around the park and on top of nearby buildings, and they are an art installation by Antony Gormley. The exhibition is called “Event Horizon,” and it consists of iron and fiberglass casts of the artist’s own (naked) body, each one slightly different. Says Gormley, “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.”
And indeed, one of the most fascinating aspects of the installation is the reaction of the viewers. The work’s appeal lies in its element of surprise; the figures loom out from the park’s shaded walkways and atop the buildings they are unobtrusive enough to go unnoticed without careful observation. There are no explanatory plaques.
As I observed from a nearby bench, two passing women jumped in surprise at the sight of a naked man in the middle of the sidewalk. Realizing it was only a sculpture, they drew closer and one reached out to touch it. Then they pulled out their cameras and took turns snapping photos with an arm around its shoulders. A few other people pointed into the sky as they noticed the rooftop watchers, and for a group of children it became a game of “I Spy” to see how many they could spot.
Sometimes, people mistake the lurking figures for suicidal jumpers or even snipers. The Madison Square Park Conservancy has tried to get enough publicity for the installation that people will understand what they’re seeing, but the police department still reports a number of 911 calls from the area. The police say that despite the inconvenience, they will continue to respond to every call in case there is a real jumper.
Gormley has earned a reputation for art that confronts the public in an unusual way. In London last summer, he created a work of “living sculpture” that enlisted 2,400 volunteers to take turns sitting on a plinth in Trafalgar Square. It caused a traffic jam from cars and people slowing to gawk. Currently, he also has an exhibition at the Sean Kelly Gallery in Chelsea, which features a lighted “three dimensional drawing” that the viewer can step inside and experience in alternating darkness and bright light.
“Event Horizon” will be installed in Madison Square Park through August 15, 2010. For more information, visit eventhorizonnewyork.org.