28.7.06
The Bean in Millennium Park
A quick note on the giant silver cloud gateway created by Anish Kapoor for Chicago's extraordinary Millennium Park, which has become a major point of convergence in the city. Burnished to a high sheen, the piece reflects, refracts -- and pays hommage to -- the Loop's dramatic city skyline, while simultaneously glorifying the visitors below (by placing them in a multi-point perspectival reflection that is accentuated by a platform of converging tiles much as in a Renaissance painting such as The School of Athens by Raphael). The interior however clearly references Tiepelo, only with spectators below now inverted towards the heavens, sent to serve as cherubim in a series of ascending concentric circles.
By shifting position, once is constantly delighted at giant shifts in perspective and multiple reflections. Outside, one sees groups of visitors placing themselves just below the great tumescent swelling in order to capture vivid photos, the reflection enhancing the camera lens. Oddly enough, this piece both encourages direct visitor interaction while achieving something of the sublime. If the sublime however signifies that moment of awe and/or horror when the individual is made suddenly aware of their tiny place in the scheme of things or is undone by a vision that escapes words, this piece takes a more merry approach, as the visitor becomes a key piece (albeit one of many) in a giant kaleidascope.
By shifting position, once is constantly delighted at giant shifts in perspective and multiple reflections. Outside, one sees groups of visitors placing themselves just below the great tumescent swelling in order to capture vivid photos, the reflection enhancing the camera lens. Oddly enough, this piece both encourages direct visitor interaction while achieving something of the sublime. If the sublime however signifies that moment of awe and/or horror when the individual is made suddenly aware of their tiny place in the scheme of things or is undone by a vision that escapes words, this piece takes a more merry approach, as the visitor becomes a key piece (albeit one of many) in a giant kaleidascope.
