Rush Hour (sculpture)

Rush Hour is a bronze sculpture by the American artist George Segal. It features a group of six figures captured in the middle of a daily commute, all with their heads down as if bracing against the weather or the monotony of their journey. Segal created these life-sized figures by using friends and family as models. He wrapped them in wire mesh and plaster bandages to capture their exact forms, then cut the molds open to release the models before casting them in bronze. The resulting texture on the figures comes directly from the fabric of those original bandages. Every person in the group has their eyes closed, a signature detail in Segal's work that gives the piece its contemplative and somewhat detached atmosphere. It serves as a permanent, stoic observation of the urban rhythm that flows through the surrounding streets every single day.