Millennium Park
We went on a quick trip to Chicago to take care of some family business, and squeezed in a trip to the Loop and Millennium Park. This was my first opportunity to photograph “The Bean” as Anish Kapoor’s stainless steel sculpture is fondly nicknamed. The official name of the abstract distortion sculpture is Cloud Gate.
As is typical for January, it was cloudy and cold – perfect weather for ice skating, but not such perfect for prowling the lakefront, scouting for the best angle to photograph this enticing work of art. I loved how part of the sculpture was snow covered, and how the cloudy skies reflected a gray and threatening feeling, and I was able to capture that in a short photo shoot. But truly, this sculpture is the kind of thing that would be fun to spend half a day admiring and photographing, and so I will return. I didn’t get close enough to explore it in depth, but I did read that you can actually walk underneath. I’ll definitely check it out the next time we’re in Chicago.
in Bryant Park, New York City
Gertrude Stein, sitting cross-legged rather like a Buddha, is one of 5 statues in Bryant Park. It’s prominently located on the terrace, on the park side of the New York Public Library. The cast was done by Jo Davidson in 1923, long before Stein had become famous as a literary figure and supporter, and was installed in the park in 1992. Amazing to me, this was the first public statue of an American woman placed in the whole of New York City, and that was done only 17 years ago.
At the Desert Botanical Garden
I saw a different kind of blue herons today. Not the live ones I saw recently in the Ozarks, but blue glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Chihuly’s exhibit will be here until the end of May. Be sure and take a look if you’re in the area, but be aware–you need reservations to get in the gardens. Chihuly’s work is that popular!
Arizona -- Much More than Cactus
If you love botanical gardens and you love art installations in a natural setting and you love surprises at every turn of the walking trail, then you will love the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dale Chihuly has an exhibit, The Nature of Glass, running there through the end of May, 2009. If you are anywhere in the area, I highly recommend a stop. Reservations are required.
Humor - A Necessary Winter Commmodity
The Statue of Liberty is back on the ice of Lake Mendota. She has a long and fabled history here in Madison.
Here’s the story.
The Law Troll of Northwestern University
The older Law School building at Northwestern University’s downtown campus has an interior courtyard, full of benches, flowers, mother ducks and their ducklings in spring, and…the law troll. He’s a charming fellow who greets everyone as they enter the outdoor garden. He has a stern look, but he seems to take a lot of ribbing without moving a muscle. Rather a charming sort in an old fashioned way.
Hill Climber on a Harley
Milwaukee is readying itself for the descent of 500,000 Harly-Davidson bikers, all coming to town this Thursday through Sunday for the company’s 105th Anniversary party. Yes, the city will nearly double in size in a matter of days as half a million Harleys and their riders come together in one big demonstration of enthusiasm/love for the cycle that made Milwaukee famous. (Hmm, that might have been another product’s slogan, but the saying goes for Harleys too.)
This statue of a Hill Rider, modeled after a rider and his competition cycle produced in 1930, stands at the entrance to the new Harley Davidson Museum. An H-D artist and enthusiast, Jeff Decker from Springville, Utah, created the bronze sculpture by welding 200 pieces together. It was unveiled earlier this summer at the Museum located just south of downtown Milwaukee.
If you love bikes, it’s a museum well worth your time.
Hanging Heart by contemporary artist Jeff Koons
We went to Chicago this weekend and visited the Museum of Contemporary Art which is running a Jeff Koons’ exhibit. It began May 31 and runs through September 21.
Hanging Heart, which is fabricated from stainless steel, has a transparent blue coating and a silver ribbon, and hangs in the entrance hallway of the museum. Unfortunately, it was the only photo I could take as there is a no photography restriction in the galleries themselves. But I loved the exhibit – it was bold and bright and sent a clear message on Koons’ take on society. The tour was certainly well worth the 45 minutes it took, and free so the cost was right.
The heart is made in 5 unique versions (red/gold, magenta/gold, silver/blue, violet/gold, gold/red). The sculptures were fabricated between the years 1994-2006 and each one measures 106 x 85 x 40 inches. It also weighs one and a half tons so I chose not to stand directly underneath it. Yep, cowardly. That’s me!
The blue heart recently sold for a cool 23 million dollars.
Billboard featuring Jeff Koon's Balloon Dog
Sixty pieces fill two huge exhibit halls and include works from all of his major series.
Koons’ site features his work, biography and artist’s statement.