Batcolumn
Batcolumn(orBat Column) is a 101-foot-tall (31 m) outdoor sculpture inChicago.Designed byClaes Oldenburg,it takes the shape of abaseball batstanding on its knob. It consists of gray-paintedCOR-TEN steelarranged into an openlatticeworkstructure.
Batcolumnstands outside the Harold Washington Social Security Administration Building at 600 WestMadison Streetnear downtown Chicago. TheUnited States General Services Administrationcommissioned the sculpture, which was dedicated in 1977. Oldenburg originally designed the sculpture to be painted red, but he abandoned that idea to distinguish it from Chicago'sFlamingosculpture byAlexander Calder.Oldenburg instead hadBatcolumnpainted gray, which he also hoped would make the sculpture easier to see against the sky.[1]A plaque on the sculpture reads, "Oldenburg selected the baseball bat as an emblem of Chicago's ambition and vigor. The sculpture's verticality echoes the city's dramatic skyline, while its form and scale cleverly allude to more traditional civic monuments, such as obelisks and memorial columns."[2]
The sculpture has been a source of controversy. On the day of its dedication, a number of people came to protest, holding signs saying "Tear it down" and "Expensive joke".[3]However,Batcolumnhas also had its defenders. A 2005Chicago Tribunearticle named it one of the newspaper's favorite Chicago sculptures (along withStanding Lincolnand the lions outside theArt Institute of Chicago Building).[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Alan G. Artner. "'Simple, pure, suggestive object'".Chicago Tribune.April 14, 1977. A1.
- ^Josh Pahigian.101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out.Globe Pequot, 2008. 67.
- ^Michael Hirsley. "Some strike out at the Batcolumn".Chicago Tribune.April 15, 1977. 1.
- ^Rick Kogan (March 6, 2005)."Three treats to view at the outdoor gallery".Chicago Tribune.Chicagotribune. p. 5. Archived fromthe originalon November 6, 2012.Retrieved2011-05-03.