New Public Commission, Habitat, Opens In Anchorage, Alaska
The first US public art commission by Antony Gormley opened on 25 April as part of the expansion of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. Standing 24 feet tall and weighing 37,000 pounds, Habitat is made from 57 welded stainless steel boxes stacked to evoke a seated person with its arms crossed over its knees. ‘Most of us live in cities. This work Habitat is a man in the form and the size of a house. This body takes a position on the building line and looks to the horizon. The mind inhabits the body, the body inhabits a house, the house inhabits a city, and the city inhabits a land. Alaska is one of the last wildernesses. This is a meditation on the human animals’ need for a very particular form of habitat.’ The sculpture sits on the street frontage, acting as a transition between the museum and the city. The work is designed to respond to the changing light and temperature conditions of Alaska, as well as offer shelter for visitors from the wind, snow and rain.
Photograph: Habitat, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Installation view. Photograph by Chris Arend, Anchorage.