Price's "Grounded in the Stars" sculpture is a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David and inspires deeper reflection around the human condition.
Visitors and residents of Times Square have a new piece of artwork on view these days: a 12-foot-tall sculpture of a woman, titled Grounded in the Stars, stands at Broadway and 46th Street.
The bronze sculpture is the brainchild of London-based figurative artist Thomas J Price. By creating the fictional character, Price aimed to encapsulate the observations, images, and open calls of New York, Los Angeles, and London.
According to Times Square’s official website, “Times Square stands as an iconic symbol and site of convergence, uniting people from all walks of life, individual stories and experiences intersecting on a global platform.”
The new installation, presented by Times Square Arts, is a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David and captures familiar everyday qualities through the woman’s stance, countenance, and clothing.
Grounded in the Stars contrasts two permanent statues of men in Duffy Square, and the installation invites the busy city to embrace a moment of personal reflection and empathy. “The intention of my public works is to become part of the place they inhabit and its physical, material history, as well as the visitors that pass through and around the location, no matter how fleeting.”
The sculpture of the young woman is just one of Price’s works for onlookers to observe as they pass through the iconic area. Throughout May, Price’s stop-motion animation Man Series will be featured on over 90 billboards. The multi-channel presentation is part of the world’s largest digital public art initiative, Midnight Moment, and passersby can catch the nightly presentation on screens from 11:57 p.m. to 12 a.m.
“I hope Grounded in the Stars and Man Series will instigate meaningful connections and bind intimate emotional states that allow for deeper reflection around the human condition and greater cultural diversity.”
Grounded in the Stars is supported by the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, Morgan Stanley, the New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the City Council, and the Times Square Edition Hotel. The sculpture will be on display through June 17.
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If there was ever a reason to trek to Times Square, this is it: a massive, 12-foot tall bronze sculpture of a young woman by figurative artist Thomas J. Price was just installed in the area, on the north side of Duffy Square on Broadway and 46th Street facing 47th Street. It will be on display through June 17.
The public art piece is part of a series called "Grounded in the Stars," which "confronts preconceived notions of identity and representation," according to Times Square's website.
Anchored by a wide base, the woman in Grounded with the Stars invites passersby to gawk and engage—standing in stark contrast to Duffy Square’s two other permanent statues, both of men. Unlike those, she wears everyday clothes, her stance a subtle nod to Michelangelo’s David.
The statue of the woman was woven from observations, images and open calls that happened across New York, Los Angeles and London.
Alongside the massive sculpture, passerby should on the lookout for another work by Price, this one on display across the neighborhood's screens. "Man Series," stop-motion animations set to play on billboards nightly in May, also involves a sculptural installation that "foregrounds the intrinsic value of the individual and amplifies traditionally marginalized bodies on a monumental scale."
“Times Square stands as an iconic symbol and site of convergence, uniting people from all walks of life, individual stories and experiences intersecting on a global platform," said Price in an official statement. "The intention of my public works is to become part of the place they inhabit and its physical, material history, as well as the visitors that pass through and around the location, no matter how fleeting. I hope 'Grounded in the Stars' and 'Man Series' will instigate meaningful connections and bind intimate emotional states that allow for deeper reflection around the human condition and greater cultural diversity.”
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