Anish Kapoor Cloud Gate 2004-2006 polished stainless steel 33′ x 66′ x 42′ [detail of installation]
I think I expected to be charmed by Anish Kapoor’s sculpture in Millenium Park, but when Barry and I encountered “Cloud Gate” on the first full day of our visit to the city two weeks ago I thought it was even better than the reviews had reported – and even more fun than its billings.
But it’s also an incredible photo opportunity, and this was one of those rare times I totally went with it. The underside of what Chicagoans had early on dubbed “the Bean” is described as an omphalos, or navel, a complex, curving indentation whose mirrored surface multiplies anything found beneath it, but in the other images I snapped the same afternoon I concentrated entirely on the first of the foreshortened Barrys I spotted above me.
I love Anish, but for Chicago public sculpture, Abakanowicz’s Agora in Grant Park gets my vote. Two very different experiences, both great. I wish Minneapolis (my home) were half the art town Chicago is.