art?

The park near the City Hall in New York is world renowned for its amazingly artistic statues. The piece featured here is a two-dimensional cow, which appears to be grazing on the park's beautiful green grass. Various other statues of farm creatures are arrayed throughout the park, causing it to be quite the tourist attraction.

"This is our first time to New York," says Shawna Lane from Kansas City. "We were going to see the Statue of Liberty, but our trip has been cut a day short. We didn't want to miss the park near City Hall... we'll see the Statue of Liberty next time."

Originally built in 1821, City Hall's park has a long standing history, but it wasn't until it was revamped in 1986 that it began to draw outsiders so effectively. It was decided that the art should reflect the city's vast power and wealth, so great expense was put into the statues' creation. The farm animals' colors of white, yellow, and brown are symbolic of the city's vivid cultural diversity.

Farm animal statue sculptor, Michael Ernst, designed and directed the creation of the entire park's showcase. Originally laughed out of European artistic circles, his unique work gained a strong following in the United States. "You still gonna say I aint no artist?!" says Ernst, who now lives on a bench in the park, staying near to his greatest love and accomplishment.