Statues Prompt ’Suicide’ Emergency Calls

Statues Prompt ’Suicide’ Emergency Calls
2010 04 15

By Carole Erskine | SkyNews.com

A collection of life-size statues on buildings has caused confusion in New York after they were mistaken for real people about to commit suicide.

The 27 naked men, all anatomically correct, have been bolted to rooftops and ledges as part of installation Event Horizon.

But concerned locals have been calling 911 because they believed the statues, by British artist Antony Gormley, are real people on the verge of jumping off the buildings.

A police source told the New York Post the statues are leading to an increase in emergency calls and taking officers away from real emergencies.

The 27 naked men, all anatomically correct, have been bolted to rooftops and ledges as part of installation Event Horizon.
But concerned locals have been calling 911 because they believed the statues, by British artist Antony Gormley, are real people on the verge of jumping off the buildings.

A police source told the New York Post the statues are leading to an increase in emergency calls and taking officers away from real emergencies.

"It’s a pain in the ass," said one officer of the art project, which was also installed in London in 2007.

"It’s a waste of manpower. We’re short [of] cops to begin with and we don’t have enough cops to waste answering calls of statues committing suicide."

But a spokesman for the New York Police Department said they had only received ten 911 calls about Event Horizon.

Mr Gormley said his aim was for people to examine man’s place in the world by putting the sculptures in odd places.
"This is a copy of my body. But it’s ten times the specific gravity. It’s very solidly there," he said.

"Up there, there’s another, it’s 60 storeys up and you can’t touch it, you can perceive it. And there are more to be found, encouraging curiosity. That’s what this is all about."

The statues are to remain in place until August 15.

From on top of a building,stands one of the 31 life-size fiberglass nude body cast by the British artist Antony Gormley, that were inaugurated March 23, 2010 on sidewalks and rooftops of buildings surrounding Madison Square Park, including the Empire State Building.

Article from: news.sky.com

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