Cloud Gate by British artist Anish Kapoor
Yesterday, I worried that the park seemed disjointed. . . Like there was a diluted, incoherent message being communicated. I still feel this is the case. However, now I'm beginning to conclude that there is nothing inherently wrong with the park itself. I love the variety of quiet and dynamic spaces and the diversity of types of experiences to be had within the park.
It only occurred to me today that the park is organized around a centralizing theme: the arts. Every aspect of the park revolves around some kind of art work: public art sculpture and architecture, art workshops for kids and teens, musical performances, and garden design, to name a few. There is a bridge under construction that will eventually connect the park directly to the new Modern Art wing of the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago.
I think this realization of the arts theme is important. I find it unfortunate that this fact isn't more denoted in the park. It seemed that this unifying concept for the park is too oblique right now to be understood by the park’s various audiences. Being an artist myself, I think it shows very poor communication that even I didn't make the connection of the park to art until a full day after my first visit there!
