A provocative pink sculpture erected in one of New York City‘s busiest destinations is enraging locals over its ‘grotesque’ look and not-so-subtle features.
The 10-foot-tall ‘Foot Fountain (pink),’ which is slated to grace Manhattan’s High Line Park through May 2026, is composed of a foot at its base with a flesh-colored column extending upward in all its phallic glory.
The piece is adorned with several mouths featuring protruding tongues and is topped by a sprinkler that spouts water when passersby pedal on a nearby machine.
Viewers have reacted with a mix of shock and disgust at the innuendo-heavy art.
‘This is disturbing,’ one person responded to an Instagram post by the park promoting the piece.
‘Is this a joke?’ another asked.
‘Um. That doesn’t look like a foot,’ a third chimed in.
‘I’m thinking the “foot” part of this installation was a last-minute creative decision,’ another joked.
The 10-foot ‘Foot Fountain (pink),’ which is slated to grace Manhattan’s High Line Park through May 2026, is composed of a foot at its base that extends upward in all its phallic glory
One user commented on X: ‘They knew what they were doing with this… it mimics a penis with warts, shooting semen out the top… they added the foot because well ya know can’t legit have it only be a giant pink d*ck. Imagine the children’s thoughts passing on by.’
Another simply said: ‘Oh it’s a squirting c*ck statue.’
The artist behind the piece, Mika Rottenberg, has described her work as ‘an overindulgent creature from my drawings’.
‘It first appeared as a small sculpture while I was doing some craft work with my daughter during the pandemic,’ she said in a statement on the High Line’s website.
The Argentine-born artist explained that the piece was originally conceived for a museum in Switzerland to work as irrigation fountain to water flowers.
‘Here on the High Line, instead of nurturing the well-tended gardens, I thought it should nurture and cool passersby on hot days, and share some of its overenthusiastic spirit!’ she said.
The works of Rottenberg, who was born in Buenos Aires and currently lives in Manhattan, have been featured at museums and galleries around the world.
Artist Mika Rottenberg has described the work as ‘an overindulgent creature from my drawings’
Rottenberg’s foot replaced a 16-foot pigeon statue (pictured)
This isn’t the first time the High Line has featured unique art.
Last summer it debuted a gigantic 16-foot pigeon in the same place where Rottenberg’s sculpture now stands.
The pigeon was meant to challenge the grandeur of traditional monuments that celebrate significant historical figures in the city.
The name and size of the bird was also meant to poke fun at the ‘the typical power dynamic between bird and human’ as it towered over pedestrians and drivers.
In his sculpture description, Iván Argote explained that the pigeon represents the city’s evolution and confronts its viewers with the constantly changing relationship with the natural world and its inhabitants.
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