16-foot-tall 'Dinosaur' is an aluminium pigeon by Iván Argote perched on New York's intersection

Proving the speculations true, a giant aluminium sculpture of a pigeon has been installed above the intersection of 10th Avenue and 30th Street in New York City.

The 16-foot-tall non-monument, as described by Creator Iván Argote, is given an unusual name: Dinosaur.

"The name Dinosaur makes reference to the sculpture's scale and to the pigeon's ancestors who dominated the globe millions of years ago, as we humans do today," Argote said. "The name also serves as a reference to the dinosaur's extinction. Like them, one day, we won't be around anymore, but perhaps a remnant of humanity will live on — as pigeons do — in the dark corners and gaps of future worlds. I feel this sculpture could generate an uncanny feeling of attraction, seduction and fear among the inhabitants of New York."

'Dinosaur' was one of 80 propositions for the High Line Plinth in 2020. It is the fourth to be commissioned, post Simone Leigh's Brick House (2019), Sam Durant's Untitled (drone) (2021), and Pamela Rosenkranz's Old Tree (2023).

"I really want to have that feeling, like you know when sometimes you're on your own for two seconds, or you're having a sandwich in the street between things, or just losing some time. Then, you look down, and there's a pigeon there. Then, you have this kind of look at each other. I really want people to have that feeling. It's like, 'Ah, I've seen you, man. Here you are. Here you are," Argote explained to the media.

Despite their omnipresence in the North American continent, the birds aren't native. They were initially brought in from Europe as barnyard animals and food sources, but gradually, they escaped into the wild and grew into scavenging communities. They are neither domestic nor wild, occupying a unique position.

The High Line, a non-profit organisation and public park facilitating the art installation, said in a press release that the sculpture will be nestled on a concrete plinth resembling the sidewalks and buildings that New York's pigeons call home and remain there for 18 months. 

Cecilia Alemani, Director and Chief Curator of High Line Art, says that the name 'Dinosaur' gives an entirely fresh viewpoint to the ubiquitous creatures whom people have long resented, giving them names like ‘rats of the sky’.

"Pigeons are animals that trigger intense reactions in New Yorkers. There are people who completely love the community of pigeons and are obsessed, and then there are people who are literally disgusted and horrified by pigeons," she expressed.

Iván Argote (born in 1983 in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Paris-based artist nominated for France's Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2022.