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City Will Dispose of Rogue Toe-Like Sculpture Found in Riverside Park

March 25, 2019 | 4:36 PM
in ART, NEWS, OUTDOORS
17

Stones that appear to have been sculpted in the shape of a toe, or perhaps a finger, were found on “a hidden patch of a stairway” in Riverside Park this weekend.

This raises questions such as: is this artwork — and if so, is this the whole thing? Also, whodunit?

“This sculpture has sprung up in a seemingly random spot on a hidden patch of a stairway in Riverside Park near St. Clair,” our tipster wrote. “A lot of work went into shaping those stones. Is it a local artist’s work? Is it a piece of a larger sculpture that belongs somewhere else and a vandal took and moved?”

The spot where it was found is shown on the map at right.

“If it’s an original artwork, that’s interesting, and I’d be curious to know who it is and what their intent is. I was concerned that it might be a missing piece of something else that somebody dumped there. It’s not just one of those improvised sculptures from found materials that have been popular in Riverside Park for some years.”

There is quite a bit of public art in Riverside Park, but the Parks Department told us: “This is not a Parks-sanctioned piece of public art and will be removed today.”

But, we asked in a follow-up, why remove it if it isn’t hurting anyone (as far as we know)?

“Unapproved structures or artworks in parks are against our rules.”

Sigh.

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PedestrianJustice
PedestrianJustice
6 years ago

Everyone must toe the line.
Doth say the authorities…sigh.

0
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ronald barrett
ronald barrett
6 years ago

“Sigh”? Why can’t we have anarchy? Anything goes? Do whatever we want? No rules!!

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AnDee
AnDee
6 years ago
Reply to  ronald barrett

Or, heaven forbid, the rule could be that the Parks administrator could use his or her discretion, and leave what’s charming and worthwhile, and pitch the rubbish. Of course this message board demonstrates why no one could live with that, since compromise and tolerance for opposing views often seem pretty hard to find.

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Dave O.
Dave O.
6 years ago

Keep it there.

0
Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
6 years ago

it’s part of the statue from LOST. we have to go back.

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Reply
Weird That Way
Weird That Way
6 years ago

But one could stub one’s toe on this toe!!!!

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Reply
chris woo
chris woo
6 years ago

So are you saying that westsiderag in asking the parks dept about it caused it to get removed?

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Reply
Jbo
Jbo
6 years ago

Do their rules say anything about raking the leaves once in a while?

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Reply
Woody
Woody
6 years ago
Reply to  Jbo

Or making sure the streetlights in the park aren’t on during the daytime.

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Reply
Tim G.
Tim G.
6 years ago

Please don’t destroy it. Maybe a permanent place can be found to display it.

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Reply
JeWhoSoFat
JeWhoSoFat
6 years ago

Its got gout

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Reply
Vivian
Vivian
6 years ago

It looks like a THUMBS UP sign.

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Reply
W 67th St
W 67th St
6 years ago

I think it’s this artist: https://wendyrichmond.com/ She was profiled in the New Yorker recently and has an exhibition on display right now.

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Reply
Wandering William
Wandering William
6 years ago
Reply to  W 67th St

I think that it is not Wendy’s work, as she seems to do casts of her hands and not larger-than-life works.

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Reply
M Warner
M Warner
6 years ago

It’s the front half of a happy hippo. Hippos should never wander out of The Hippo Playground.

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Reply
Christian
Christian
6 years ago

Who’s going to foot the bill for removal?

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Ed
Ed
6 years ago

It was there at least since the 16th or 17th. I noticed it because my dog saw it as something out of place and barked at it.It now has red nail polish on it.

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Reply

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