SÓLO JUEGO YO

Feliz como una perdiz. No, corrijo, como una perdiz no, como una paloma.

Leo con placer una noticia que me llega allende los mares: la ciudad de Nueva York homenajea a ese animal que a pasado de alegrar las plazas de todo el mundo a ser odiado, denostado por políticos, periodistas y viandantes. Como los humamos no cagamos ni nada parecido, las palomas son la punta de lanza de una campaña librada desde hace años contra los animales que cagan y estropean la arquitectura. No debe haber otra forma sino exterminarlos con jaulas y veneno, porque visto lo visto. sé que debo ser de los pocos que quedan que defiendan lo indefendible, pero el blog es mío y listo. Vuelvo a mi infancia mirandesca, sí; German lo entenderá. Sólo juego yo, se escuchaba también en nuestra recordadas salidas de los sábados para jugar al Pictionary. ¡Qué tiempos!

ya comienzo a desviarme, cómo no. Vuelvo al redil. Hablaba de palomas y de Nueva York, siempre. A unos siempre les quedará Venecia, a mi siempre Nueva York.

He aquí la noticia en cuestión:

From Reviled to Revered, an Enormous Pigeon Perches Atop the High Line

Grace Ebert, 21.10.2024

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/10/from-reviled-to-revered-an-enormous-pigeon-perches-atop-the-high-line/?utm_source=colossalnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Thu+Oct+24+2024&utm_campaign=Release+and+Recycle

The latest sculpture to grace New York City’s High Line is a monumental tribute to an unlikely creature.

Perched above 10th Avenue, a hyper-realistic pigeon stops to rest in the outdoor pavilion. The work of artist Iván Argote (previously), the hand-painted, aluminum bird is titled “Dinosaur” and looms 21 feet in the air, rivaling the enormous proportions of some of its ancestors.

Argote is known for questioning the role of monuments and statues, particularly as they relate to colonial histories and power imbalances. For this work, he upends the human-animal relationship and notions of migration and value as the common street bird is vaulted into a glorified figure, peering down on pedestrians and drivers. The artist says in a statement:

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… 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.

Despite their ubiquity throughout North American cities, pigeons aren’t native to the continent. The birds were initially brought from Europe as a barnyard animal and food source, but as they escaped into the wild, they grew into the scavenging flocks they are today. No longer domesticated and not quite wild, pigeons occupy a unique position.

Argote’s work is a cheeky nod to the birds and suggests they’re more deserving of appreciation than some of the figures we’ve collectively honored in the past. Standing tall and confident atop a concrete plinth, the sculpture also serves as a reminder that “everyone is an immigrant,” a statement says. “Even the pigeon, a New York fixture, initially migrated here and made the city their home, like millions of other ‘native’ New Yorkers.”

“Dinosaur” will be on view through spring.

Me voy a la ducha, se me hace tarde y uno ha de mantener su fama de puntualidad británica.