Skyscraper of steel toy parts sparkles in New York

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A million pieces of stainless steel toy parts assembled into a nearly seven-story model skyscraper glimmered under the hot sun in New York on Tuesday, in American artist Chris Burden's latest project.


The 16,000-pound (7,250-kg) "poetic interpretation" of the 30 Rock Building at Rockefeller Center was made of replicated Erector set pieces from the toy created by A.C. Gilbert in 1912, Burden said.


"He was inspired by the buildings to build this toy system and I used this toy system to build a building," Burden said.


"It's a poetic interpretation of 30 Rock, it's not a model of it. It references all the tall buildings in Manhattan," Burden said, standing near his 65-foot (20-metre) tower.


The project, assembled by 20 to 30 people using screwdrivers, began in late 2006 and was put together in Los Angeles County and trucked across the country in two parts.


"It's very reflective, sort of like a faceted jewel, really picks up the light," Burden said.


The exhibit, titled "What my dad gave me," will be on display through July 19 at Rockefeller Center.


Burden, who lives in Los Angeles, was born in Boston in 1946. He received attention as a performance artist in 1971 when he was shot in the arm for the sake of art in a performance called "Shoot."


(Reporting by Marcy Nicholson; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Cynthia Osterman)

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Elvis Presley - Presleys Pals Deny England Visit Claims

LATEST: Two close friends of ELVIS PRESLEY have refuted claims the star once made a secret visit to London - insisting the singer never set foot in the British capital.

It's been long reported that Presley's only visit to the U.K. was when his plane stopped at Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow, Scotland, to refuel on his way back to the U.S. in 1960.

But last month (Apr08), British entertainer Tommy Steele claimed the king of rock 'n' roll visited him in London at the age of 23 in 1958.

He told British newspaper the Daily Mail, "(I) swore never to divulge publicly (what happened).

"I can only hope he (Presley) can forgive me. It was an event shared by two young men sharing the same love of their music and the same thrill of achieving something unimaginable."

However, Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker, two of Presley's pals - part of his entourage nicknamed the Memphis Mafia - insist the legendary singer never travelled to England.

Fike, who served with Presley in the U.S. Army in Germany for 18 months, tells the BBC, "My apologies to Tommy, but it did not happen. I was with him the whole time. I got there two days after he got there. He was confined to base.

"Had he gone to England, I'd have been there."

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