Man on a Bench - Chicago, IL
Posted by: libbykc
N 41° 50.129 W 087° 37.652
16T E 447895 N 4631700
This sculpture by George Segal on the campus of IIT depicts a non-specific African-American man sitting on a bench.
Waymark Code: WM13KEX
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2020
Views: 1
Man on a Bench is a sculpture by George Segal located on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). The Chicago Park District describes the sculpture as follows:
"In 1986, the Illinois Institute of Technology held festivities to honor the centennial of the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's birthday. An internationally acclaimed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) played an important role to the institution as a teacher, program director, and designer of the campus and many of its buildings. In tribute to the occasion, the university commissioned contemporary artist George Segal (1924–2000) to create the first permanent outdoor sculpture for the campus.
"Man on a Bench looks much like Segal’s signature life-like human figures that are made of plaster, however; it is composed of bronze sealed with white acrylic resin. The figure resembles an African American man who is sitting comfortably on a wooden bench. Segal visited the university during the planning phase of the project. According to a campus guide, the artist later reflected “I found myself thinking of several things: the calm order of the campus, the memory of Mies; and the concerned sensitivity of the school to the surrounding community.”"
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