Cloud gate, or "the bean" as it's affectionately known by Chicagoans sits inside Millenium Park. When the park opened it was only partially completed. Following the park's inauguration it was promptly covered up and unveiled two years later in 2006. Today tourists circumvent and amble through it frequently delighted by the tricks it plays on the reality all around them. This Anish Kapoor sculpture has managed to inspire creativity in all demographics. Cameras are out and everyday people turn into directors positioning and posing their friends or relatives into clever interactions with "the bean". This play of spontaneity matches the whims of an artist at work. This is the magic and goodness that art can do for us as a civilized society. You may not like the aesthetic of this particular work but you can't deny the sense of peace and creativity it inspires in even the least artistic type. Suddenly art becomes play.
Here's a self portrait with Cloud Gate.
