"Cloud Gate" is Anish Kapoor's wonderful sculpture that dominates Chicago's Millennium Park. Locals have nicknamed it "the bean" because of its shape. I did a post about Millennium Park three years ago. Today I want to concentrate on just this sculpture.
I recently discovered this photo that I took back in 2005. I had completely forgotten that on a visit to Chicago in early 2005, I got to see this sculpture for the first time. Millennium Park was dedicated in 2004 and this sculpture wasn't quite done yet. It was uncovered for the dedication ceremonies and covered again so that it could be completed. It wasn't completely done until May of 2006. The sculpture is made up of 168 stainless steel plates that have been welded together and then highly polished so that none of the seams are visible. If you look closely at this photo you will see what looks like smudges on the left side. It appears that I caught this photo while the polishing was still in process.
The mirror like finish makes this sculpture a perfect place to catch reflections of the Chicago skyline.
Depending on how you position yourself when taking the photos, you can bend the skyline image in many directions.
On the underside of the sculpture is the "omphalos" which is Greek for "navel". It's described as a concave chamber that warps and multiplies the reflections.
On a more recent trip to Chicago, I joined a fellow photographer to take photos of this wonderful sculpture at dawn. I'm facing west and you see the glow of the sunrise in the reflection.
Kapoor's sculpture is a much loved addition to the Chicago art scene. It is loved by residents and visitors alike.
The Phoenix Art Museum has another work by Anish Kapoor. Ours is called "Upside Down/Inside Out" and it is made of resin. You can see it here.
4 comments:
The reflections are spectacular.
Aren't you glad you saved the photo back in 2005? (‾⌣‾)
It is amazing, I miss going to Chicago every year
It has great appeal.
I wonder how they keep it clean.
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