Giant Reclining Statue Of Liberty Installed In Morningside Park

HARLEM, NY — More than six months after it was first announced, a giant sculpture depicting a reclining, weary-looking Statue of Liberty has been installed in Morningside Park, where it will entertain locals and befuddle passersby for the next year.

Titled "Reclining Liberty," the 25-foot-long sculpture by artist Zaq Landsberg was put in place Monday near the park entrance at West 120th Street and Morningside Avenue. It will officially open Friday and remain on view through April 25, 2022.

Landsberg describes the artwork as a mashup of the Statue of Liberty and the giant reclining Buddha statues found in Asia. Viewers are allowed to touch, climb and sit atop the statue, which is coated with plaster resin and finished with copper paint and oxidizing acid, mimicking the look of the real-life Lady Liberty.

Patch first reported on the statue in October, when plans for it were presented to Community Board 9. The board reacted warmly to the project, praising the fact that children would be allowed to interact physically with it.

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By joining the Buddhist image and the American icon, Landsberg intends to pose questions about the duration of the Statue of Liberty's ideals.

"Is the U.S. as an entity forever upright and tall, is it an eventual decline and fall, or is there another stage for the country that will transcend this symbol altogether?" reads a news release about the sculpture.

The artwork is part of the city's Art in the Parks program, and is one of six public installations on view around Harlem.

The $16,700 project was funded by Friends of Morningside Park, the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

"I feel like we need public art more than ever this year," said Connie Lee, President of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, in a news release.

"Zaq Landsberg’s creative mind brings us a sculpture that is effortless to engage with. This collaboration with Brad Taylor and the Friends of Morningside Park, is an example of community organizations working together to support Harlem-based artists and present quality art in public spaces in upper Manhattan."

Hailing originally from Los Angeles, Landsberg has previously exhibited other works in New York City parks, including "Islands of the Unisphere" under the big globe in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and another Statue of Liberty-inspired piece on Governors Island.