MOOOve on over…the cows are back in NYC!
21 years later, the Cow Parade has returned to NYC. This eclectic art exhibit first popped up back in 2000, bringing 500 cow creations across the city. Unfortunately, it was met with some issues as many of the dairy designs were defaced or even stolen!
This year, however, they scaled things back and made sure the cows had guardians near by to prevent any funny business. This year’s art exhibit features 78 specially-designed fiberglass cows across all five boroughs.
The Cow Parade started in Chicago in 1999 and is one of the largest and most successful public art event in the world. “Why cows?” you may ask. The website says it’s because “the cow is a universally beloved animal.”
“The cow represents different things to different people around the world-she’s sacred, she’s historical, she connects us to our past-but the common feeling is one of affection.”
They also say because of a cow’s size and shape — and that it can be standing, grazing or reclining — provides the perfect canvas for art.
22 cows are in and around Hudson Yards on the West Side, while 56 others are scattered across eight other locations in the city — from Industry City, Brooklyn to Bronx Community College to the New York Hall of Science in Queens to the National Lighthouse Museum on Staten Island.
The cows are designed by a carefully selected group of artists and range in design. Some examples include: a Fabulously colorful cow by Lizzie Tisch, an abstract cow with patches of bright colors, a cow with Frida Kahlo’s face, an 80s graffiti cow by an Ecuadorian artist, an “Edison Cow” covered in lightbulbs, and an eco-cow made with renewable resources (according to the New York Times).
Catch the cows through Sept. 30!
All cows will be sold at auction by Heritage Auctions with all net proceeds to benefit NYC charity God’s Love We Deliver.
