The High Line - A Bird on Sze's "Still Life with Landscape"

There was a bird on Sarah Sze’s Still Life with Landscape! It flew away before I could snap a pic for you, but it was there! Why is this so exciting? Let me step back… 

On June 8^th, with much fanfare, Section 2 of the High Line, stretching from 20^th to 30^th Streets just west of 10^th Ave, opened to the public. There’s been a ton of hype (welcome to New York!), and the most intriguing piece I’ve seen was about Sarah Sze’s sculpture Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat). According to this Times piece, the work is first and foremost a sculpture, and if it happens to attract wildlife, so much the better. There are seed trays and mini-troughs and little bird condos. Now, let’s be clear, the bird I saw was not actually eating the seeds or drinking the water, but it was there on the stainless steel frame. Does that count as success? Check it out for yourself, and let me know if you see some action!

Another installation that arrived with the Section 2 unveiling is Digital Empathy by Julianne Swartz.  It’s kind of like Field of Dreams for the social networking age. At 11 different locations throughout High Line Park elevators, sinks and water fountains are rigged with computer-generated voices. Lean in for a bit of refreshment and you just might hear a love poem. 

When you reach the northern end, stop by Rainbow City, an inflatable wonderland of colorful creatures by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval of Friends With You. Here you can also grab a quick lunch from the Taco Truck, which is as budget-friendly as it is eco-friendly. (They compost, their truck runs on propane, and two tacos will run you just $4.50.)  

The High Line is great because it enthusiastically embodies the opportunity to showcase public art. Section 1 features, among other things, Spencer Finch’s extraordinary The River That Flows Both Ways, which presents the varying colors of the Hudson River in a grid of stained glass windowpanes. Plus, Friends of the High Line presents site-specific performance art. This week is the Step to the High Line Festival, presenting five incredible stepping teams dancing their feet off on the ol’ tracks. 

Public art installations aside, a stroll along the High Line is in many ways the ultimate Inspirational Lunch. In a city that rushes with the momentum of a barreling train, the High Line invites you to hop off for a moment and live in a place where the tracks have grown over with wildflowers and the menacing yellow-and-black things in your path are not taxis but bumble bees. It’s pretty incredible. 

Ingredients: 

Venues: The High Line
Artists: Arturo Sandoval; Julianne Swartz; Samuel Borkson; Sarah Sze; Spencer Finch
Streets: 20th - 30th Sts, 10th Ave.
Eats: The Taco Truck

Map: