Tuesday, May 9, 2023

On Astor Place, the cube will BRB to spin again

After midnight, a crew whisked away the cube (aka Alamo) from Astor Place for repairs... with a return expected mid-summer.
As the Times noted, "A crane, a flatbed truck and a couple of city agencies assisted with the getaway." As previously reported (first by THE CITY), the 1,800-pound cube is off to Bethany, Conn., for restoration by Versteeg Art Fabricators — a firm that also restored the cube in 2005.

The cube had been out of commission with structural damage since late 2021. The barricades first arrived around the cube in December 2021, before the city removed them in late April 2022. At the time, we were told that the spinning mechanism for the cube, which manually rotates around a pole hidden in its center, was not working. 

Tony Rosenthal's sculpture first arrived here in November 1967.

And Rosenthal's estate is picking up the estimated repair bill of $100,000. 

From the Times:
Dave Petrie, the director of Rosenthal’s estate, said he was "concerned about the state of disrepair" the cube had fallen into...

"The thesis was, we want to do this," he said. "The cost wasn't the issue. We want Tony's legacy to live on."
And a reader shared this photo from last night after workers packed up the cube...
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 9, 2023 at 8:03 AM

    Great news. Alamo was mean to be interactive. So glad it's been sent to the Spin Doctors!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 9, 2023 at 8:26 AM

    I think the sculpture itself is cool, but what I really enjoy is seeing how people interact with it. Glad to hear it’ll be back at Astor Place in top form by mid-summer!

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  3. AnonymousMay 9, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    Yea sacred ground for sure - will be excited to give it a spin when it comes back

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  4. AnonymousMay 9, 2023 at 3:01 PM

    @8:03 ha! "spin doctors" made my day. thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. DamosMay 9, 2023 at 3:49 PM

    Does anyone now what the black is a representation of ? It is supposed to represent the black cube of Saturn or Satan you spinn it and supposed to open a portal to the underworld and let demon be released in to the natal world like CERN is trying to do in Switzerland or the show stranger things best explains it best should think twice before spinning the cube

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  6. AnonymousMay 10, 2023 at 8:18 AM

    Damos, don't know, but the version at the University of Michigan, called 'Endover" is also black.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMay 10, 2023 at 1:25 PM

      There were a bunch of these cubes made as temporary art installations. Some became permanent.

      Delete
  7. AnonymousMay 10, 2023 at 11:08 PM

    I’ve spun the cube as a tourist in the late 70’s, just because, then again when I moved to NYC and East 7th street in the 80’s. Spun it with visiting friends and family and eventually with my own two kids, who are just now home from college. Perhaps we’ll get to do it again soon, after a big meal at Veselka.
    but next time, Daddy’s not doing all the pushing!

    ReplyDelete

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