New York City has another odd installation that is turning heads: A pink foot fountain — kind of.
The fountain, erected in April, can be spotted at the High Line park. The 10-foot tall structure, however, has been described as phallic-shaped from afar, turning heads over its bizarre presence. The fountain itself, when one draws closer, resembles a pink leg and foot. The leg appears to have mouths — some describe them as sores — with tongues sticking out of some of them.
The New York Post gleaned some reactions to the piece:
So just so we’re clear — nobody saw a foot,” one Instagram commenter insinuated.
Another commenter got explicit: “I clearly saw a pink penis.”
Argentinian artist Mika Rottenberg is behind the structure, who according to a summary, “combines film, architectural installations, and sculpture to explore themes of labor and how value is created in today’s hyper-capitalist world.”
“For the High Line, Rottenberg presents Foot Fountain (pink) — a ten-foot-tall sculpture of a pink foot and lower leg topped with a sprinkler, activated by pedals installed nearby,” it continues.
Rottenberg said in a corresponding statement that the pink foot fountain is an “overindulgent creature from my drawings, first appearing as a “small sculpture” during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The original version was conceived for the Tinguely Museum in Basel and designed as an irrigation fountain to water a flower garden in its radiant ‘footprint’ — nurturing and connecting with the land it touches,” she said, explaining that this fountain — instead of nurturing gardens — nurtures passersby, relieving them from the heat.
This is not the first time an NYC art installation has turned heads. In May, a statue of described as a “plus-sized black woman” graced Times Square, generating criticism.
The foot fountain is expected to remain until May 2026.
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