Photo via ArtInfo
Yes, in case you were confused, that's David Beckham wearing only his underwear in Central Park, Madison Square Park, at the South Street Seaport. A 10-foot-tall statue resembling the soccer stud (and recent London Olympics ubiquity) has been cast in reflective chrome and positioned around the city, as well as in H&M's Fifth Avenue flagship store to promote his underwear label sold there.
According to AP, there are three more Beckhams in California -- two in L.A., where Beckham plays for the Major League Soccer franchise the Galaxy, and one in San Francisco. That means at least seven shiny Beckham packages around the country for you to idolize (we're impressed that they didn't try to make the abs even more defined and indeed recreated Beckham's current belly perfection).
It should be noted (as ArtInfo did), that the chrome statues, while marketing devices, resemble Rob Pruitt's ode to Warhol that's stationed in New York City's Union Square (until September 4). We're waiting for someone to analyze the semiotics of this one.
Next question: Will these become hot collectibles?
