A “dinosaur” is set to descend on the High Line in Manhattan this October.

A 16-foot-tall sculpture of a pigeon, titled “Dinosaur,” has been selected as the next High Line Plinth commission, Friends of the High Line announced Wednesday.

The “hyper-realistic” aluminum bird, created by artist Iván Argote, will be installed over the intersection of West 30th Street and 10th Avenue and will remain on view for 18 months.

What You Need To Know

  • A 16-foot-tall sculpture of a pigeon, titled “Dinosaur,” has been selected as the next High Line Plinth commission

  • The “hyper-realistic” aluminum bird, created by artist Iván Argote, will be installed over the intersection of West 30th Street and 10th Avenue and will remain on view for 18 months

  • Argote, the youngest artist to create a piece for the Plinth, said his piece stands as a testament to pigeons’ resilience

  • The pigeon will replace Pamela Rosenkranz's “Old Tree,” a bright red and pink piece that “animates myriad historical archetypes wherein the tree of life connects heaven and earth”

“To be posed on a concrete plinth that resembles the sidewalks and buildings that New York’s pigeons call home, Dinosaur reverses the typical power dynamic between bird and human, towering over the countless pedestrians and cars that will meander below its feet,” Friends of the High Line said in a news release.

Argote, the youngest artist to create a piece for the Plinth, said his piece stands as a testament to pigeons’ resilience.

“The name Dinosaur makes reference to the sculpture’s scale and to the pigeon’s ancestors who millions of years ago dominated the globe, as we humans do today,” he said in a statement. “The name also serves as 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.”

The Plinth, an outdoor space that features a rotating selection of contemporary art, opened to the public on the High Line’s Spur — the final section of the park — in June 2019.

"Dinosaur" will be the fourth commission for the Plinth, replacing Pamela Rosenkranz's “Old Tree,” a bright red and pink piece that “animates myriad historical archetypes wherein the tree of life connects heaven and earth.”

Argote’s creation generated mixed reactions as it went through a selection process, Friends of the High Line said.

“During the public commenting period of the Plinth selection process, Argote’s proposal proved polarizing, receiving a great number of responses, with many New Yorkers remarking on their strong feelings of affection for or disgust of the iconic and ubiquitous urban wildlife,” the release said.