Flatiron Man

Here's one of the thirty-one life-size statues by British sculptor Antony Gormley that have recently been placed around Madison Square. The figures are based on the artist's own--talk about ego!--and they are all facing the Square. You have to look way up to see most of them, because they've been placed high, high up, perched on window ledges or standing on rooftops. But a few stand on solid ground, where pedestrians daily stop and look and comment, and take photos of themselves standing next to the figures.

This one stands right in front of the Flatiron Building, looking straight at it. I call him Flatiron Man.

So with this installation what is Gormley saying about himself? About New York? About the Flatiron Building? His statues will remain until mid-August, and I will miss them when they are gone.