LOVE. It’s What It’s All About.

City-Kid Review:

I’m going to climb in. Take a picture!

Part of an occasional spotlight on NYC’s  public art, which can be taken for granted like a comfy sofa. Of course, the selected art has to be child-friendly or, at the very least, child-interesting. 

I love this statue and I especially love it in this location. Standing like a bright red  beacon blaring the world LOVE in the center of Manhattan’s midtown hedonism, a block or two away from the apocryphally named ‘666’ 5th avenue, it’s poetry in placement; Particularly as the statue was inspired by Indiana’s childhood home which had very little wall decoration but the words ‘God is Love’. It’s all very poetic, which I love.

For someone born in NYC but raised in another country, Robert Indiana’s statue has always been synonymous with the city. I don’t know if this is due to publicity, or the hippie movement, or the Pop Art movement,or the endless photos of the statue in midtown, but I had always thought it came here as an original piece in the 70s and, sort of, stuck.

How wrong was I?
Very.

The clue is in the artist’s name, of course. The original LOVE statue is in Indiana and it has spawned several reproductions, including an AMOR in Washington DC. Philadelphia has one and, indeed this NYC one, as well as others. San Francisco has one on a tennis court, inspired by Indiana but created by Eric Seidenglanz.

In fairness, the very original design was commissioned by MoMa which would explain the current location of the New York statue, 55th and 6th. MoMa is located on 53rd between 5th and 6th. It began life as a Christmas Card for MoMa in 1964. The O of the top two letters slanted towards the V in the bottom two letters and there was a blue background with green behind three of the letters – between the V and the E, and to the right of the L and the V, and in the center of the O. The NYC statue is bright red with blue insides set on a black plinth.

Okay, I’ve just fallen into the impossible trap of trying to explain with words a visual piece of art.

Just go. It’s wonderful. You can experience polite behavior as a group of folks gather and wait their turn to take photos of themselves with the work of art. It is all very polite, and happens daily.

What’s great, as a parent, is your child can sit between the V and the E (or climb up as, of course, City Kid did) and you can get the perfect City Kid Shot.

Need to Knows:

The stables offer regular lessons as well as their camps.

Location:  the corner of 55th street and 6th Avenue.

Nearest subway: the F at 57th street is the nearest stop, but it’s mid-town so there is plenty of access. The BDE stop at 7th Avenue, the EM at 5th Avenue and 53rd Street, the NQRW at 57th Street.

Cost: Fuh-ree!

Food Situation: There are so many places to eat around here, you could throw a stone and choose. (But don’t do that) I recommend Maison Kayser for absolutely delicious French fare and MakiMaki -for the most amazing handrolls you will ever have in the city. They are both next to each other and conveniently close to the statue on 6th avenue between 55th an 56th.

Information correct at time of writing. 

Top-Tip

Have a gander at nearby Carnegie Hall or Rockefeller Center.

Or, simply go to the Hekscher playground in the south part of central park. It’s the oldest playground in the park but, don’t worry, it was renovated in 2005. It has bathrooms, should you need them, and it is almost 3 acres wide, so plenty of runaround room.

There is a great ice cream place – Grom – just south of Columbus Circle, on broadway between 58th and 59th.

Do you have a New York City sculpture you’d like to tell us about? Or any photos of you and the LOVE statue? Please post in the comments section.

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