giant aluminum pigeon ‘dinosaur’ by iván argote to perch above the high line in new york

iván argote’s aluminum pigeon ‘dinosaur’ for high line plinth

There’s a giant aluminum pigeon named Dinosaur set to fly and perch above the High Line in New York City starting October 2024. Commissioned by the High Line Plinth, the 16-foot-tall public artwork and sculpture is the brainchild of Iván Argote. It’s on the High Line over the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Street for over 18 months. The hand-painted, aluminum pigeon finds its rightful home in the city, where several of its family members flock to its sidewalks and buildings. There’s a dichotomy of size that the Colombian artist wants to put forward.

People are bigger than pigeons, thus may be more powerful than the dubbed ‘flying rat.’ This time, the sculpture flips the narrative around because Dinosaur towers over the cars and passersby, asserting its passive dominance. Dinosaur is the fourth commission for the ongoing Plinth program, following Simone Leigh’s Brick House (2019), Sam Durant’s Untitled (drone) (2021), and Pamela Rosenkranz’s Old Tree (2023). Dinosaur was first submitted as a proposal for the High Line Plinth in 2020, among 80 proposals that included Pamela Rosenkranz’s Old Tree.

all images courtesy of Iván Argote and the High Line

hyperrealistic sculpture watches over new york

Most monuments tend to pay homage to important figures in a grand way. Iván Argote does the same, and the figure he’s picked is certainly one that’s historical, both past and present. He celebrates the common New York City pigeon and gives it a name coming from its own lineage, Dinosaur. In the Colombian artist’s words, the name refers to the sculpture’s scale rather than its looks. It’s a homage to the aluminum pigeon’s ancestors, who dominated the world millions of years ago. Now, it’s humans who have taken over the pigeon’s forefathers, nudging their numbers down.

‘The name also serves as a reference to the dinosaur’s extinction. Like them, one day we won’t be around anymore, but perhaps a remnant of humanity will live on — as pigeons do — in the dark corners and gaps of future worlds,’ says Iván Argote about his commission. It’s not known yet, but the artist feels that his hyperrealistic sculpture can tap into the passersby’s attraction, seduction, and maybe above all, fear. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not flying or moving, anyway. It’s just there, gazing at cars, tourists, and the inhabitants of New York with its unblinking eyes.

Iván Argote, Dinosaur, 2024 (rendering), a High Line Plinth commission

‘Dinosaur’ to stay on the high line for 18 months

Iván Argote hints that pigeons, like many New Yorkers, originally came from somewhere else. If considered to an extent, the sculpture poses to send the message that everyone, in a way, is an immigrant, especially in the city known for being a melting pot. The pigeons may have come to the US from Europe, likely around the 1800s, and they were versatile. They were kept as food and pets, treated as symbols of beauty and wealth, and above all, the messengers (pigeons may have the innate ability named ‘homing’ which helps them find their way home or location).

Pigeons were even used in World War I and World War II to carry messages, and they were crucial for military communication. Today, people might overlook them and even consider them ‘pests’. It shows how their role has evolved. In his own hand-painted way, Iván Argote brings pigeons back as a celebratory figure, cast in aluminum. The artist humorously suggests that the pigeons, and in this case his ‘Dinosaur,’ might even be more deserving of celebration for their contributions to New York than many known historical figures present in the city. Iván Argote is High Line Plinth’s first and youngest artist yet from the global south. His aluminum pigeon ‘Dinosaur’ is set to perch in October 2024 for 18 months.

the giant pigeon ‘Dinosaur’ by Iván Argote is on view from October 2024 to Spring 2026