30-04-2025
This bizarre water-spitting sculpture on the High Line lets you soak unsuspecting passersby
There's a sculpture on the High Line right now that's causing some folks to question the content of their Instagram feeds. Mika Rottenberg's 'Foot Fountain (pink)' sits in all its weird glory at the 30th Street entrance, sputtering out water from its rather phallic top.
'Foot Fountain (pink)' is a giant pink foot and lower leg that stands 10 feet tall and is peppered with tongues that stick out of lipsticked mouths. Its toenails are splashed with red nail polish, too. But the real kicker is the sculpture's function: the working sprinkler on top can be activated by moving a set of pedals nearby, surprising or delighting passersby.
It's just one of those sculptures that begs for a double take…
According to an official press release, the structure is an 'irreverent take on the tradition of classical fountains that are commonly plopped into the middle of a square or in gardens, their water forever self-contained.' What's more, the thing is 'nurturing the place and people by where it sits with water.'
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Commenters let their fascination be known on the High Line's Instagram post about the sculpture.
"This post is extremely hilarious when you have it scrolled up only half in the beginning. 😂," reads a comment.
"Who's gonna tell them?," someone else noted.
"I ran to the comments," a third user wrote, echoing all of our thoughts.
New York artist Rottenberg is known for this type of in-your-face work: throughout the years, she has placed her art pieces where production and commerce are perhaps the most visual, such as a pearl factory in China and a Calexico border town.
Her sculpture is one of four artworks across the elevated park that you can see now, including 'Urmodern,' a work inspired by Sámi mythology from Britta Marakatt-Labba; 'The Sun Is A Flame That Haunts the Night,' towering candlestick-inspired sculptures by Tai Shani; and 'Animism' by Zhang Xu Zhan, a video of three stop-motion films screened nightly.
