Anish Kapoor ~ Portland and Chicago

Anish Kapoor is well known for his very large usually reflective sculptures. Although Portland is not home to one of them, Chicago, on the other hand, is. Kapoor's Cloud Gate graces Millennium Park and the natives refer to it as the Bean which it, of course, resembles – you have to love those Chicagoans for accuracy. The Cloud/Bean is Kapoor's first site specific installation in the United States. In addition to the above images of the Cloud, I'm including a video and a link to another in an effort to keep the posts uncluttered. Click here for the additional video. Right now we'll have to settle for the Hexagonal Mirror currently on view at the Portland Art Museum and this week's piece at Fifty Two Pieces.



Speaking of Chicago, I'll take this opportunity to also tout the symphony at Grant Park there, Millennium Park's outdoor music venue. Carlos Kalmar (the Music Director of the Oregon Symphony) is the Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival. Chicagoans love him. They come out in the rain to watch and listen to him conduct. They truly know genius when they see it. The night we watched him conduct he arrived with his hair combed close to his head. We were convinced he had done something to his usual "fro" that would keep him from conducting with his usual eloquence. No, we were wrong. He started fine and within 10 minutes his hair had dried (he must have been caught in the rain) and conducted a superb evening of music. So the next time you're in Chicago, visit Millennium Park. In addition to all of its other activities and sculptures, you'll be able to personally take in the Cloud/Bean. If you time your visit right you'll also be able to hear Kalmar conduct for free.