Crown Fountain; Millenium Park, Chicago
| Basics: | |
| Location: | Millenium Park, The Loop |
| Chicago, Illinois | |
| Artist: | Jaume Plensa |
| Architect: | Krueck + Sexton Architects |
| Height: | 50 Feet |
| Materials: | Glass Block |
| LED Screen | |
| Granite (pool) | |
| Completed: | 2004 |
This unique fountain engages the citizens of Chicago by projecting their faces on a giant LED screen while a jet of water sprays from their mouth.
Key Details:
The sculpture is named after Lester Crown and the Crown Family who sponsored the fountain. The Crown family has ties to General Dynamics and other major companies as well as ownership in the Chicago Bulls and New York Yankees.
The fountain alludes to the gargoyle, the traditional architectural component which were typically located at the end of gutters and shot water from their mouths during storms. The fountain is composed of two separate towers and is linked by a large granite basin which collects the water and recirculates it.
Juame Plensa is a Spanish Catalan artist who has produced work in the public realm throughout the globe. His work often explores the engagement, interaction and participation of the viewers in his work.
If You Go:
The Crown Fountain is on the west side of Millennium Park immediately adjacent to Michigan Avenue. Be careful to stay out of the range of the fountain if you are not interested in getting wet. Just to the east is the Lurie Garden and a number of additional wonderful pieces of public art are immediately adjacent.
Sources:
http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/dca_tourism/Crown_Fountain.html
This work by Matt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
