Featured in our Industry News section of this edition of the Stone & Tile Design Insider is a story about the unveiling of "The Guardians: Hero and Superhero," which are two 13-foot-high statues that were created by acclaimed Italian architect and designer Antonio Pio Saracino. The statues were recently installed outside Bryant Park in New York City and unveiled during a reception attended by hundreds of people. I had actually been invited to the event, but due to bad weather, I unfortunately couldn't attend. My publisher, Alex Bachrach, was able to make it into the City that night and told me that the statues were spectacular.
"Hero" was designed as a modern-day take on Michelangelo's famous "David." Weighing 6,000 pounds, the large statue is made from Olympic White Vermont Danby marble. "I wanted to create two symbolic protectors of New York City that celebrate the superhuman and the inspiration that it channels," Saracino said. "Their layered design, shows 'the universal ability of mankind to cement its own presence in the world with its perennial construction skills.'"