Cloud Gate No. 2

Another image of Cloud Gate (The Bean to Chicagoans) continues to question just who owns the rights to art. The artist creating this massive piece of public art, British artist Anish Kapoor, named the piece Cloud Gate. Kapoor discusses the work as follows:

What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline…so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one’s reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around.

Engage the Chicago skyline it does. Enter the chamber, absolutely. But given its popularity as a piece of public sculpture, of public art, the name attributed to the piece has become The Bean. Chicagoans have made the piece uniquely their own, they have ignored the name given it by the artist and, based on its kidney bean shape simply call it by another name. Even if the piece does exactly what the artist envisioned, the piece takes on a daily life of its own. It serves as a place for photographs to be taken, for reflection, for close examination and distance viewing. In short, The Bean is no longer the creation of Anish Kapoor, rather, it is the creation of every visitor to the plaza housing the piece. This is not to diminish Kapoor’s contribution to the piece. It is, after all, the construction of the artist. Once crafted, however, the piece is no longer the property of its designer/constructor; it belongs to the people and the people have taken a deep proprietary interest in the piece.

So next time you visit The Bean remember Anish Kapoor and the footnote title of Cloud Gate.