This tour focuses on the most famous of the public modern sculpture found in the downtown Chicago area. The area is rich with art from some of the world's most famous modern sculptor's. The first portion of the tour can be done as a walk, but when you reach the sculpture "Freeform" you will probably want to take a bus over to Millenium Park and then to Grant Park to complete the tour. So head to the Federal Center in the Loop for the first stop of the tour.
Flamingo by Alexander Calder - 41° 52.729 W 087° 37.783
This huge and dramatic sculpture stabile sculpture by Alexander Calder is located in the courtyard of the Federal Center. Calder is best known for creating the mobile. What I love about "Flamingo" is how you come around the corner through a tunnel of black glass box skyscrapers and there it is this huge, energetic, curvy red thing that looks like it's about to take off.
Four Seasons by Marc Chagall - N 41° 50.860 W 087° 37.793
This huge 4 sided glass mosaic can be found in the First National Plaza at Dearborn and Monroe Streets under a protective glass canopy. Its dimensions are 70 feet long, 14 feet high, 10 feet wide. The mural was a gift to the city of Chicago in 1974 from the artist himself. The colorful glass and stone used to construct it came from Italy, France, Norway, Belgium, and Israel.
Untitled by Pablo Picasso - N 41° 53.062 W 087° 37.770
This piece created a stir when it was erected in 1967 as Chicagoans doubted its merit. You'll find it located in the Richard J. Daley Plaza. Depending on where you stand it is mounted with the head of a woman or of a hound dog. The plaza and sculpture were the location of the climax scene of the movie "The Blues Brothers" when a huge car chase took place and drove through Daley Plaza.
Your next stop is right behind you, directly across the street.
Chicago by Joan Miro - N 41° 53.023 W 087° 37.802
Chicago, by the Catalan artist, Joan Miro, is a surreal feminine figure made of plaster and bronze and studded with ceramic tiles. It was placed in 1981 on Washington near the intersection with Dearborn.
Originally this sculpture was entitled "The Sun, the Moon and One Star." Its cost was $500,000, half of which was supplied by the city.
Monument with Standing Beast by Jean Du buffet - N 41° 53.177 W 087° 37.853
This is one of three of Jean Dubuffet's large sculptural works in the United States. The sculpture, placed in 1984, is based on Dubuffet's 1960 painting series Hourioupe. The sculpture is said to represent four elements: standing animal, a tree, a portal and an architectural form. The fiberglass piece is 29 feet (8.8 m) and weighs 10 tons (9091 kg). You'll find it in front of the post modern Helmut Jahn building, James R. Thompson Center. Your next stop is across the intersection at the Illinois State Office Building.
At this point you'll probably want to give your legs a rest. I suggest hopping on a bus heading east towards the lake and then walking to the next sculpture found in Millenium Park.
Cloud gate by Anish Kapoor - N 41° 52.956 W 087° 37.380
This is one of the city's newest pieces, but it is probably it's most well known and loved piece. It is British artist Anish Kapoor's first outdoor public work in the United States. The piece is constructed of highly polished stainless steel plates, welded together in a bean shape. The shiny surface reflects the city skyline on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. The gate portion is the 12 foot high arch formed in the curve of the bean. Cloud Gate was inspired by liquid mercury and measures 66-feet long by 33-feet high.
The Boeing Galleries = N 41° 53.045 W 087° 37.360
Boeing granted the city of Chicago $5,000,000 to create an outdoor sculpture park in the city's new Millenium Park. The sculpture garden, called Boeing Galleries, is divided into two sections. It is located on the Park's south and north mid-level terraces, above Wrigley Square and the Crown Fountain respectively.
The galleries will rotate the display, changing annually or bi-annually. While we were visiting 6 sculptures by Mark di Suvero were showing.
After you visit the galleries and wander Millenium Park, hop on a bus along Michigan Ave down to the south end of Grant Park.
Agora by Magdalena Abakanowicz - N 41° 52.081 W 087° 37.403
The sculpture Agora can be found in Grant Park near the beginning of the esplanade leading to the Adler Planetarium and its intersection with Michigan Avenue. The sculpture incorporates the figures of 106 headless abstracted 9 foot tall human figures. The hollow figures wander about along a stretch of land on the south end of Grant Park. Each is hand molded and made to resemble the texture of tree trunks.
The 2.5 million dollar piece was a gift from the artist and the Polish Ministry of Culture. The Parks have raised $800,000 needed for the installation and maintenance of the piece, thanks to some help from Robin Williams, an Abakanowicz fan.
Man Enters the Cosmos by Henry Moore - N 41° 52.004 W 087° 36.425
This sundial sculpture was created by sculptor Henry Moore in 1980 and can be found next to the Adler Planetarium on the shores of Lake Michigan. This type of sundial is often called a bowstring equatorial sundial. It was placed "in recognition of the revolutionary program of space exploration which was launched in the second half of the twentieth century, making it possible for man to land on the moon and to send probes to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn."
The view from the location is beautiful so give yourself a few moments to sit and stare, because you've finished the tour and your feet deserve a bit of a rest.
Two sculptures that we didn't have a chance to visit, but that should be included in this grouping are "Reading Cones" by a favorite sculptor of mine, Richard Serra, (located in Grant Park), and "Lines in Four Directions" by the famous Minimalist sculptor, Sol Lewitt (located at the Federal Building, near "Flamingo" piece.) There are others that I'm sure are missing from this tour that belong here. If you find additional great Chicago public art be sure to mention it in your visit log so others have a chance to see them too.