Everyone Is Convinced That This Man Wants To Kill Himself

By Lee Anderson

These pics are of a statue in Madison Square Park. It's part of a public art exhibit called "Event Horizon" by the artist Antony Gormley. The exhibit will be up until August 15th, but has already caused controversy--not just from Mr. Cromley's anatomically correct likeness (he used himself for a model), but many have mistaken statues perched atop surrounding buildings for suicidal New Yorkers contemplating the long dive.

On the "Event Horizon" Web site, Gormley is quoted as saying, "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.” 

Huh? In any case, this "gaze" is almost giving some passers-by a heart attack. "The Gothamist" reports that the NYPD are getting panicked calls on a daily basis. They quoted one officer as saying, "We don't have enough cops to waste answering calls of statues committing suicide."

The nearby Ace Hotel is sponsoring a contest to see who can submit the best pictures of the exhibit. The link to do so is here: http://blog.acehotel.com/gormleycontest#contest-rules  

I'm doing so myself following the conclusion of this post, which is now...