Rockefeller Center Unveils 10-Foot Steel Sculpture, 'Looking Up'

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Rockefeller Center revealed its newest work of public art on Wednesday: a 10-foot tall stainless steel sculpture by the artist Tom Friedman.

The sculpture, titled "Looking Up," depicts "a quasi-human figure gazing up to the heavens," Rockefeller Center said in a news release.

It will remain in place until March 19 at the Channel Gardens, on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets.

Friedman said the work mimics the way people gaze, awestruck, at figurative sculpture, adding that it "represents a request to look beyond oneself and to engage in wonder, discovery, awe, and also positivity."

The sculpture also imitates the way visitors look up at Rockefeller Center's architecture, said EB Kelly, a managing director at the complex's owner Tishman Speyer.

A previous, 33-foot-tall edition of "Looking Up" was installed temporarily in 2016 on Park Avenue and East 53rd Street.

The mold for the sculpture was made with crushed aluminum foil pans.