One of the most fascinating pieces of public art I've ever seen is this one in Chicago. Known as Cloud Gate, it sits in Millennium Park. When I first saw it a number of years ago, I wrote the following about it which I think is hard for me to improve on:
"Like the monolith in Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s monumental film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, “Cloud Gate” looks like an alien object dropped onto a terrestrial landscape (not the African Savannah, but rather into Chicago’s Millennium Park). This gleaming, silver, kidney bean shaped object (33’ tall; 110 tons) was created by British Artist Anish Kapoor. Crafted of stainless steel, “Cloud Gate‘s” surface reflects Chicago’s magnificent skyline and the faces of hundreds of curious onlookers (including your humble narrator’s) who are drawn to it (as was Moonwatcher to the monolith). It’s a captivating and interesting object that seems as probable an intergalactic portal as an art object in a City Park. Somehow Chicago is the perfect home for Cloud Gate. "
More on Chicago at this blog post.
(reflecting the city's famous skyline)
(the center of Cloud gate, viewed from below)
(the smooth surfaces afford an opportunity for a self-portrait)
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