George Segal was an American painter and sculptor who was best known for his life-sized human sculptures made of plaster bandages (or the material used in making orthopedic casts). His stark white sculptures can be found in public spaces around the country – sitting on park benches, standing next to each other in line, and working together on make believe construction sites. The most intriguing thing about them is that they're actually hardened hollow shells of actual humans. May of them were anonymously placed in urban environments just waiting to be found.
Circus Acrobats
The Girl Friends
The Diner
Cinema
Three People on Four Benches
Street Crossing
Gay Liberation
The Constructors
The Tollbooth
The Commuters
Dumpster
Holocaust Memorial
Segal (right) worked here to cast Martin Friedman, then director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, for “Depression Bread Line (1991),” part of the Franklin D. Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Depression Bread Line
George Seal Being Cast for ‘Self-Portrait'
“I think a minute of existence is miraculous and extraordinary” – George Segal, 1924-2000
