Cloud Gate, Chicago

An unusual sculpture called “Cloud Gate” or “Cloud Gate” adorns the main square of Millennium Park in Chicago, USA. It was invented and constructed by British sculptor and artist of Indian origin Anisha Kapoor. After winning a competition to create a sculpture for Chicago Central Park, he conceived a project almost impossible to implement, but he managed to prove the opposite. Today, Kapoor’s masterpiece is a business card, an art object and one of the famous sights of the metropolis.

Sculpture "Cloud Gate" was initially accepted ambiguously. In addition to entertainment, it does not carry any payload. Nevertheless, the monument appealed to the many residents and tourists of the city due to its unusual shape and mirror smooth surface. The author of the project used for its creation 168 plates of stainless steel, welded together and polished to mirror shine. The design weighs 100 tons. Visitors to the park are attracted to the sculpture by the opportunity to have fun with distorted images of houses, clouds and passers-by reflected in the mirror. Against the background of the convex "lens" are original photos. You can walk under the 3.7-meter central arch, admiring the large dents, and see in them numerous amusing reflections of themselves. The seamless and polished Cloud Gate reflects and magically transforms the silhouette of Michigan Avenue, the sky and people nearby who always seem to have a desire to touch the silvery surface of the sculpture.

Despite the fact that the sculpture has an official name, in the common people the object is called “The Bean” (“beans”) because of its similarity with legumes. Some claim that it also resembles a ball or an egg, depending on which side you look at it. The author himself laid a completely different meaning in his offspring. The sculpture was inspired by a drop of mercury. However, he wanted to display a frozen raindrop. I think he did great! Beans instantly became a kind of magnet, a center of attraction for every visitor to the city. It is loved for the fact that it is created solely for entertainment and recreation, just for what it is.