Keep an eye out for a 17-foot sculpture of rhinos this week on Astor Place. (Should be easy enough to spot...)
As previously reported, "The Last Three," billed as the world's largest rhino sculpture courtesy of artists Gillie and Marc Art, will take up a temporary residency on Astor Place near the cube.
And its purpose:
The 17-foot sculpture will be unveiled ... to inspire, educate, and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against rhino horn sales. Everyone is invited to get up close and say their goodbyes.
Driven by a false belief in their medicinal benefits, rhino horns are worth more than gold and poaching has condemned the northern white rhinos to the brink of extinction. Only Sudan, his daughter Najiin, and granddaughter Fatu are left.
The sculpture is expected to arrive tomorrow ahead of an official unveiling on Thursday morning. Per the Facebook invite:
Gillie and Marc Art have recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – in a 17-foot bronze sculpture to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade.
Please join us in unveiling "The Last Three" to create a legacy of the Northern White Rhinos, and save future species from extinction.
Order of Events
9:00am - Introduction
9.15am - Speeches
10.00am - Unveiling
10.15am - Photos
10.30am - Interviews
Gillie and Marc’s sculpture will be used to raise critical awareness about the plight of the rhinos and ways people can help.
“Our mission is to collect at least 1-million goodbye messages and put them towards a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education” says Gillie, “You can help by leaving a goodbye message for Sudan before he’s gone forever.”
And here is a rendering of the sculpture...
You can read more about the project here.
Gillie and Marc Art reportedly invested $150,000 of their own money for the project. (There was also a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $50,000.) Cable network Nat Geo Wild is the main sponsor.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year
17 comments:
Yeah, everybody in the EV has a rhino horn or two in their closet. The artist should try to have it put up in Yemen where it will have some real meaning.
Sorry to be cynical but the only attention this sculpture will bring is first to the artist and second an army of tourists looking for their next "selfie" high. Why not plant this thing near the UN where the international crowd and get the message and perhaps do something real about it.
The Village Alliance has made a mess of the Astor redevelopment. This is just a desperate act to do something and get attention for the space. They would do better to keep it clean, replant dead trees(dead for 2 years now) and add more greenery. Wisful thinking. I know... But...
Put it on the High Line where all the tourists will get the benefit of being educated about this issue. This placement in Astor Place is just PR, IMO.
Hopefully it'll eat the pink bunny (if it's still there) for lunch.
Would you rather not see art in your neighborhood? Even if to just stare at something a bit different on your walk through Astor Place? I think the sculpture is a cool idea, and I'd much rather have it in the EV where I can appreciate it than by the UN where it'll be largely ignored. How can people possibly be against this??
Oh less we forget we are the "artsy neighborhood" where corporate art now proliferates and real artists have been pushed out by the real-estate industry and his highness the Mayor. Hope this things gets tagged mercilessly.
I totally agree with the 3 previous comments -
good idea, but not appropriate placement--
I agree. The UN. But this is a millennial thing, right -- I mean rhinos, sustainability, artisanal?
Bring back the Mud Truck!!
If this is the worlds tallest Rhino sculpture, I’d like to see the worlds shortest Rhino sculpture just for the sake of comparison
Have to say that I'm with MrNiceGuy. I'm all for public sculpture, and it's good to see one with a purpose and point of view. It'll be seen by the people in the neighborhood, by Cooper Union and NYU and St Johns students, by people seeing shows at the Public, and denizens of the Death Star. It's a temporary installation--so after we've seen it, there's nothing to prevent it being contemplated at the UN, or Yemen, or a museum, or anywhere other-than-here that people recommend!
First good one Giovanni. The Astor place corporate make-over needs this kind of gimmick to justify the money spent and show the people of the lower east side that this is really "Mid-town South". There is a conservationists and zoning battle going on now to stop the Mayor from extending the fantasy Silicon Alley which is an excuse to add glass and steel towers along Broadway, 4th and 3rd Avenue from 14th Street to Astor place. This is another Trogan horse posing as an art and socially progressive statement.
I read a great article about the art-washing phenomenon and that's what this and that stupid Weiwei outdoor exhibition was, trojan horses for development and for the privatization of street and park space. These predatory developers, vulture capitalists and de Faustio's fauxgressive cult must feel so good about themselves bringing up endangered species and also humanity and environmental issues at fundraising events and dinner parties. Too bad they can't show the same empathy for the Humans of New York that they are forcing out.
@4:47pm: I can be against it b/c it represents commodification of this area, which my NEIGHBORHOOD, and not just some impersonal public area where big items get dumped.
(As if the bros and techies give a shit about "art"! They'll just be making comments about how "horny" that sculpture is - you can bet on that.)
@9:05am and @10:07am: I completely agree with what you've said.
I forgot to mention the bullshit feminist statue fearless girl
R.I.P. Sudan. The last male White Rhino. You will be sorely missed.
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