This is a sculpture that Pablo Picasso created for the city of Chicago. This statue has no name. It can be found in Chicago’s Daley Plaza.
The Chicago Picasso, an unpainted, three-dimensional, cubist sculpture standing 50 feet tall and weighing 162 tons, is made of Corrosive Tensile (“Cor-Ten”) steel, the same material used to build the Daley Center. Originally rust colored, the sculpture now has a darkish gray patina that nicely matches the one on the Daley Center building behind it.No doubt the most famous of Chicago’s many outdoor sculptures, the Chicago Picasso was unveiled in the Civic Center Plaza (as the Daley Plaza was then known), on August 15, 1967.
Greeted at first with much scorn and ridicule, the Chicago Picasso nonetheless marked the beginning of Chicago’s love affair with contemporary art, a love affair that would help turn downtown Chicago into a veritable open-air sculpture gallery, with some one hundred artworks spread all around the Loop for Chicagoans (and tourists) to enjoy.
Sorry, but I think something about the way your pictures are being resized is causing them to look blocky/pixellated. You might want to try something different.
Hear hear yes Chicago has amazing outdoor art I love millenium park too!
what do think it is supposed to represent. I always thought is was representative of a baboon; the rods being representative of the blue colored skin next to males’ noses.
I remember going to the Chicago Museaum of Art around 1968 when they had a Picasso exhibit there, shortly after the his statue was dedicated in Daley Plaza. One of the featured pieces at the museum was Picasso’s 42-inch model of that famed steel sculpture. I circled it, stood up on tip toe to view it from every angle I possibly could. I squatted and even borrowed something to stand on to make me taller. I was fascinated in the beauty of the changing visions that each new angle afforded. Then all of a sudden, I was greeted by one of the most beautiful visions possible. It was the most absolutely perfect profile of a woman. The facial shape was classic, the hair flowing, the shoulder beautifully rounded. I memorized the angle and was completely “hooked”. Later that trip, some of my friends and I went to Daley Plaza. We heard people describing the sculpture as “ugly”, an “elephant”, a “baboon”, a “horse’s rear” and all sorts of other negative commentary. But I knew better – I had seen for myself what a beautiful depiction it really was. I even picked the one window in one of the downtown buildings that represented “my special angle” and wished I could work in that building forever. To truly appreciate the beauty of the profile hidden in this awesome statue you have to rise above the left “shoulder” about 35 degrees. =)
picasoo’s work has made him immortal specially his sculptures are heavenly
What a great example of the work of Pablo Picasso! While I enjoy Picasso’s paintings, I find his sculptures very intriguing. This is one of my favorite pieces located in Chicago.