British sculptor Cornelia Parker draws inspiration from two masterworks for her installation—and apprehension about urban progress.

Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) (2016)
Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) (2016) © Alex Fradkin/Cornelia Parker

... “When I was offered to make something for this great spot on the roof, I was very daunted, because the skyline is so amazing,” Parker says in a video on the Met’s website. “So I thought I wanted to put something architectural on the roof, kind of in congress, a domestic house.” .... 

Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad (1925)
Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad (1925) - ... she was also thinking about House on the Railroad, a 1925 painting by Edward Hopper. It is said that this painting was the inspiration for the creepy old Victorian that serves as the brooding manse inPyscho. So following A to B to C, Parker decided to reclaim parts from red barns to re-create the Bates Motel on top of the Met. Just as the house appeared on set, her installation is illusory, with just two completed faces propped up by stilts. © MOMA