Breakdown: Cloud Gate

In my Chicago write up, I cheekily referred to this sculpture as Clout Gate for all the Instagrammers posing for the perfect candid snapshot at the public art piece. I would like to furthermore point out to you dear readers that the plaza in which Cloud Gate sits is called “AT&T Plaza,” for the telecommunications company. It’s all coming full circle!

Anyway, Cloud Gate is a world-famous sculpture and high priority sightseeing destination in Chicago. It is an incredible piece of art, distorting the Chicago skyline and any passers-by. I walked around and under maybe ten or so times, trying to match the reflection to the person. Under the omphalos (Greek for “gate”), things become even more distorted, with multiple reflections at multiple angles throwing me off, and also giving me a bit of a headache!

Cloud Gate was the result of a design competition, and designer Sir Anish Kapoor based his submission on liquid mercury. The runner-up was Jeff Koons, who submitted a design of a glass-and-steel playground slide with an observation deck 90 feet above the ground. Keep in mind Koons is known for his sculptures of everything from balloon animals to a porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson and his chimpanzee, Bubbles.

Although Kapoor’s submission did win over Koons’, there were vast concerns about its building materials.  It could become fatally subject to Chicago’s weather swings, visitor fingerprints, and graffiti. Even finding a material that could be applied to the sculpture seamlessly to create the mirror effect was questioned. The shell was eventually comprised of 168 stainless steel panels. Each panel was ⅜ inch thick and weighed between 1,000 and 2,000 lbs. It was refined using a double-action sander and polished with a ten-inch electric buffing wheel. Ultimately, the sculpture was almost two times the anticipated weight, nearly two times the anticipated cost, and officially completed and dedicated almost two years past due.

Despite all that, The Bean is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Chicago, and obviously well worth the investment. In fact, Chicagoans gave the sculpture its well-known nickname before Kapoor even officially named the sculpture himself, although he did remark that the nickname “The Bean” was “completely stupid.”