It ’s a lucky coincidence that Chicago’sCloud Gatearrived around the same time as the selfie . In addition to being the kind of recognizable watershed made for Instagram travelogues , the 66 - infantry - long , 33 - substructure - tall , 110 - gross ton reflective carving invite tourists with its funhouse - like mirror and curve . Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicate “ The Bean , ” as it ’s been dubbed , on May 15 , 2006 . Here are nine facts you might not know about this already iconic public sculpture .
1. IT WON OUT OVER JEFF KOONS’S GIANT SLIDE.
In 1998 , Daleyannounced plansto turn railyards and parking space along the metropolis shoreline into what ’s now Millennium Park . In addition to a garden , outflow , and public presentation stage , task blueprint director Ed Uhlir sought a landmark sculpture for the quad . A committeeinvited submissionsfrom artists around the world who had done major outdoor small-arm . They narrow down the selections to two : Cloud Gatefrom London - based Anish Kapoor and a giant functional playground sliding board , made of meth and steel , from New Yorker Jeff Koons . “ He want an reflection chopine about 90 base in the breeze , with a slide that would carry people down to order , ” recalls Uhlir . Because of both disabled accessibility concerns and the splashiness of the chute , the commission find fault Kapoor ’s approximation .
2. KAPOOR WAS KNOWN FOR HIS BIOMORPHIC FORMS AND INSPIRED BY LIQUID MERCURY.
In the ’ LXXX and ’ 90s , the Bombay - born sculptorhad several exhibits of big geometric form made from material like stone , aluminum , and resin . Perhaps his most renowned prior body of work was Void Field , a walkable layout of jolting sandstone engine block , each topped by an enigmatic black hole , show at the Venice Biennale annual artistry competition in Italy . His1995 stainless steel globe , titledTurning the World Inside Out , is a harbinger toCloud Gate , likewise polished to result no crease or remnant of construction visible .
3.CLOUD GATEWAS BUILT WITH THE SKYLINE IN MIND.
“ What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline,”said Kapoor , “ so that one will see the cloud kind of float in , with those very grandiloquent buildings reflected in the work . And then , since it is in the form of a gate , the player , the witness , will be capable to enter into this very abstruse chamber that does , in a means , the same thing to one ’s reflection as the exterior of the spell is doing to the reflection of the urban center around . ”
4. KAPOOR LEARNED TO MODEL WITH A COMPUTER.
InAnish Kapoor : Past , Present , Future , Nicholas Baume writes that untilCloud Gate , Kapoor modeled his work by hand . subsequently , the artisttold Baumethat planning the construction of unlined sculpture of that sizing need him to do “ a slap-up deal of data processor model to analyze the form for make it well enough . ”
5.CLOUD GATEWAS MADE IN CALIFORNIA.
Kapoor selected Performance Structures Inc. of Oakland , California , to fabricateCloud Gate . The procedure took three years . Originally , PSI planned to forgather the entire object and ship it — via two oceans , the Panama Canal , the St. Lawrence Seaway , and Lake Michigan — to Chicago , but this was deemed unfeasible . So the company created a series of plates up to 7 feet wide , 11 feet long , and as heavy as 1500 Sudanese pound for another house to tack in Millennium Park . “ We used computer engineering to measure the plates and to accurately evaluate their shape and curvature so they would all check together correctly , ” pounds per square inch founder Ethan Silvasaid . The plates shipped in strength containers , also made by PSI , to preclude them from being altered in transport .
6. IT SPENT ITS INFANCY IN A TENT.
While metalworkers polishedCloud Gatefor its unique continuous control surface , the piece was hidden beneath a tent in Millennium Parkfor eight monthsin 2005 .
7. IT’S CLEANED DAILY.
Every day , Cloud Gateaccumulates perspire , grime , fingerprint grime , or shoe dirt from the myriad of visitor who touch it . Its cleaningschedule varies by season , but maintenance crews wipe the lower , touchable role several times a day and often give it a power washables at Nox . Twice a year , the city bathe it in40 gallons of Tidefor a deep cleaning .
8. THERE IS AN APPARENT CHINESE COPYCAT SCULPTURE.
Last year , the Chinese township of Karamay unveiled a strikingly standardised unsullied steel statue . Kapoor is jeopardise to sue and trying to enlist legal help from the metropolis of Chicago . A Karamay touristry officialtold theWall Street Journalthat the statue is mean to resemble an oil bubble . ( oil production is the town ’s main industry . ) “ While we habituate standardised materials , the shapes and import are dissimilar , ” he added . Also : “ Cloud Gateintends to excogitate the sky , but ours reflect the ground . ”
9. KAPOOR IS NOT FOND OF “THE BEAN” NICKNAME.
Heoncesaid it was “ completely dazed . ”
