September 19, 2006
Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror at Rockefeller Center
My attempts to photograph the construction of Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror at Rockefeller Center were thwarted by rain, but the sculpture is now officially on view, so I trekked up to midtown this morning to take a few pictures.
The work was, by 9AM, generating all kinds of tourist-like activity, even among those who were obviously New Yorkers. The spectacle is, of course, a necessary part of any intervention into this site. The sculpture, perhaps thirty feet tall and set into a specially built concrete plinth, achieves different effects on its two sides: Its convex surface, pointing outward toward the sidewalk, is a mirror that will draw the narcissism out of Fifth Ave. passersby; its concave surface, pointed up toward the tower of 30 Rockefeller Center, is noticeably more complex, reflecting—as the above picture and the title indicate—the shifting sky and the tops of nearby buildings. (What's interesting is that the computer renderings at the Public Art Fund website indicate a far more distorted view of the street life, akin to what one encounters when standing close to Cloud Gate, Kapoor's enormously popular sculpture for Millenium Park in Chicago.)
I need to return to the plaza and watch the public's behavior around the sculpture, but in the meantime wanted to share these two pictures with you. Ten more can be found in this Flickr set.
UPDATE, 9/20: Gothamist is on the case with plenty of links to other photographs.
UPDATE, 9/23: Simon Hattenstone files a profile of Kapoor in today's Guardian.