Art Is Where You Find It -
Outdoor Art
You don’t have to go to a museum or art gallery to see good art. You can find it just about anywhere if you know where
to look for it. Some of the most obvious places are public gardens, parks, and even some city streets. Chicago and Minneapolis have
been innovators of public outdoor art, installing fine art sculpture by some of the best artists in the world.
Chicago is not only the home of the Cubs and the Bears, it is also known for its “City Museum Without Walls.” Though the city had boasted
having Edward Kenneys’ bronze lions, marking the entrance to the Chicago Art Institute, and the 1930 sculpture “Ceres” on top of the Chicago Board of Trade Building,
it wasn’t until Pablo Picasso’s huge sculpture was placed in what is now the Richard J. Daley Center in 1967 that public outdoor art flourished
in the city.
In 1974,the city installed Marc Chagall’s mosaic, “The Four Season,” in the First National Bank Plaza, Claes Oldenburg’s 100-foot “Batcolumn” in
front of the Social Security Administration Center, and Alexander Calder’s giant steel sculpture, “Flamingo,” at the Federal Center Plaza. (It’s the leggy sculpture that
the Blues Brothers nearly drive over in “Blues Brothers 2000.”)
Every few years, Chicago added another permanent piece of fine art.
- 1975: Harry Bertoia’s metal sculpture on the Amoco Building.
- 1981: Joan Miro’s “Chicago” in the Brunswick Plaza.
- 1983: Louise Nevelson’s 30-foot steel sculpture, “Dawn Shadows,” on W. Madison.
- 1989: Jean Dubuffet’s “Monument with Standing Beast” in front of the James R. Thompson Center
- 1991: Roger Brown’s mosaic “Arts and Sciences of the Ancient World” on a building on N. La Salle.
- 1993: Richard Hunt’s aluminum sculpture on the Illinois State Office Building.
Chicago also hosts a large outdoor sculpture exhibit every year along Navy Pier. It started out with three sculptures in 1995 and has expanded to over 100 artists
from 12 countries in 2000. The installation of these large sculptures in the spring, using semis, cranes, and boom trucks is also an event not to be missed.
|
