Thirty-one life-sized self portraits cast in iron and fiberglass are installed on the sidewalks and across the parapets of skyscrapers in and around Madison Square Park for Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon. Gormley’s work is distinguished for upending expectations for the physical presence of the human figure in life and in sculptural form. The works were adapted for New York City after their 2007 commission by London’s Hayward Gallery. Four sculptures are sited at ground level. Twenty-seven are installed on surrounding structures including the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and the New York Life Building. The nudity of Gormley’s figures contrast with expected conventions of city life and challenge assumptions for public space. Their seemingly-precarious placement on the ledges of tall buildings offers multiple readings: perched observatory, potential self-harm, the perceived power of height. Gormley described his motivations: “… I don’t know what is going to happen, what it will look and feel like, but I want to play with the City and people’s perceptions. My intention is to get the sculptures as close to the edge of the buildings as possible. The field of the installation should have no defining boundary…”