Crown Fountain | |
---|---|
Artist | Jaume Plensa |
Year | 2004 |
Type | black granite reflecting pool dual LED screen, glass brick sculptures Height: Template:Ft to m |
Location | Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois |
Crown Fountain is an interactive public fountain in Millennium Park, in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by Jaume Plensa, it opened in July 2004.[1][2] The fountain consists of a black granite reflecting pool located between a pair of artistic and technically sophisticated opposing glass brick sculptures measuring Template:Ft to m in height.[1] The construction and design cost $17 million.[2][3] Throughout most of the warmer months, it incorporates water in the form of a cascade and spouting water nozzle as well as a reflecting pool. The sculptures are known for the digital videos of Chicago residents that they display continuously throughout the year.
The fountain has been praised by both trained architects and ordinary city residents for its artistic contribution to Millennium Park.[4] In addition, the fountain has a reputation as a public play area that accommodates a need to escape from summer heat. At times when the National Weather Service issues summer heat advisories and the Illinois Governor is compelled to declare state office buildings as official daytime cooling centers, the national press points to Crown Fountain as a respite not only for Chicagoans, but also for residents of the most remote reaches of the Chicago metropolitan area.[5]
The fountain has found its way into Chicago pop culture. It is a popular subject for photographers and a common gathering place. In addition, the use of video clips of local residents makes the fountain a place not only to go to see others and to be seen frolicking with friends and family, but also a place for hundreds of Chicagoans to go to attempt to see themselves.[6] The fondness of the public for the aesthetics of the fountain caused several elements of Chicago's society to voice a unified public opinion against the controversial use of surveillance cameras, which resulted in the immediate removal of the cameras.[7] The fountain and the entire park in general are reputed for their accessibility.[8]
Artistry
Plensa's Crown Fountain opened in July 2004 as part of the July 16–18, 2004 Millennium Park opening that was kicked off in the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion.[9] Millennium Park was conceived in 1998 as the capstone of Grant Park to celebrate the new millennium and to feature world renowned architects, artists, designers, landscape architects, and urban planners.[8] It is on the east side of Michigan Avenue across from the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District, north of the Art Institute of Chicago and south of the McCormick Tribune Plaza and Ice Rink between Madison and Monroe Streets. It sits with a northward backdrop that not only includes some of the tallest buildings in Chicago, but also includes some of the tallest buildings in the world, especially the skyscrapers along Randolph Street: Aon Center, One Prudential Plaza, Two Prudential Plaza, and Smurfit-Stone Building. Skyward viewers also see the eastern backdrop of Lake Michigan. The $17 million construction and design cost was largely funded by the Crown family, who donated $10 million and for whom the fountain is named.[2][10] The fountain's black granite reflecting pool measures Template:Ft to m and has an approximate water depth of Template:In to cm.[1] It includes two LED screened glass brick sculptures, one at each end, measuring Template:Ft to m.[1]
The fountain is animated through a continuous dynamic exhibit of lights and electronic images.[1] The images are sometimes clips of landscapes or natural waterfalls, but the towers are best known for their display of images of Chicago residents. A total of about 1000 faces of Chicagoans are displayed in a rotation, in random order.[2] The water has the illusion of flowing from the water outlet through the mouths of the images just as traditional fountains spout water from the open mouths of gargoyles.[11][1] The images typically portray puckered lips spouting water.[2] The water feature operates from mid-spring through mid-fall each year, weather permitting (e.g., the annual opening of the water feature occurred on April 15 in 2006),[11] and the images operate 24 hours a day year-round.[11] The artist intends to portray the social evolution of the city by updating the collection of images.[1] When the water is not spouting out of the outlet on the front of the tower, it cascades down each of the facades.
The fact that some Chicago residents are the subject of videos on public display causes them to go to great lengths to attempt to see themselves. Some subjects have been attempting to catch glimpses of themselves since the fountain opened to no avail. In fact, many report that they have not only not seen their own digitized image, but have yet to hear of anyone who has seen their own image. The subjects were chosen from local schools, churches and community groups, and the filming began in 2001 at the downtown campus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Of the original 1051 subjects shot, 960 videos were determined to be usable for the project. Plensa decided to use four minute videos for each face and one minute of spouting human "gargoyles".[6] There is brief period between the five-minute video displays during which the sculpture is unlit. Thus, at most 12 faces appear per hour.
Architecture
Krueck & Sexton Architects designed a special stainless steel T-frame both to bear the gravity load of the walls measuring Template:Ft to m and to withstand the lateral wind forces. The frame holds all the glass blocks, but it transfers the load to the base in a zigzag pattern. Rods measuring Template:In to mm in diameter anchor to the structure and project into the frame for lateral stability, while triangular corner brackets add support.[12]
The glass was custom made by hand at a factory in Template:City-state and fitted into small sections of the frame. The glass is white glass rather than the usual green glass that results from iron impurities. Each block is Template:In to cm with glass thin enough to avoid image distortion, with one out of the six faces of the block polished; the other five surfaces are textured.[2]
Crown fountain has two drainage methods (pictured above right) to drain the 11,520 US gal (43,608 L; 9,592 imp gal) of water per minute.[13] The water is pumped and recirculated through the fountain. Dual pump rooms below each tower draw water from a reservoir beneath the reflecting pool. Although consideration was given to omitting an LED tile for the spout, it was determined that each image would look like it was missing a tooth. Instead, one tile in each tower is recessed about Template:In to cm to allow the installation of Template:In to cm clear tubing for the water feature.[2] The water continuously spills over the fountain down the sides of the towers and intermittently spouts from the nozzle.[2] The water is filtered and pumped from the underground parking garage. Two essential custom fittings contribute to the artistic vision of the fountain: A custom glass block for the upper edge serves the dual purpose of guiding the water's descent while remaining unobtrusive; a plastic nozzle was fitted to the stainless steel frame to control the waterflow at a rate that will not cause the city to be liable for injury to the fountain's interactive participants.[12] The interactive participants are usually kids playing in the stream from the water spout or under the cascade, making this sculpture a sort of water play land in addition to an artistic structure. Concern for the activities of these children made the design somewhat of a legal challenge as well as a physical challenge because the city did not want the spouting water to knock people over.[12]
The physical demands of LED screens, in particular the red, green, and blue long-life lightbulbs and the requisite circuitry, created three major challenges: supporting the physical structure, combating heat buildup, and optimizing legibility of the display. The LED structure is not supported as a 50-foot (15 m) wall, but rather as segments that are noticeable by visible horizontal bands that show where the LED equipment is supported every few feet. The heat is handled by fans that cool the air at the bottom that works its way through the chimney-like tower. Legibility was determined to be optimal with LED lights Template:In to cm behind the glass.[12] The LEDs differ from standard lightbulbs because they fit into an electrical circuit so that illumination results from the movement of electrons in the semiconductor material. A filament is unnecessary, so the bulbs never burn out and do not get too hot. Also, fins were added to the screens to keep direct sunlight from hitting the LEDs.[14]
An additional challenge was designing the structure to facilitate interior access for ongoing maintenance and repairs while accommodating two levels of underground parking underneath. The challenge was solved by combining a T-bar grid to absorb weight with about 150 “outriggers” or “tiebacks” inserted through the video wall to support the glass blocks and absorb wind loads. This design allows removal of individual glass blocks for cleaning or repair without disruption to the display. The filtered air inside the towers helps minimize the need for cleaning, however.[2] In addition to the interior access for technical repairs, Crown Fountain is reputed for its exemplary non-discriminatory accessibility because its interactivity is not limited to the able.[8]
The control center for the tower that controls the synchronization of images, water flow, and lighting color and intensity is beneath one of the towers in a Template:Ft2 to m2 room. The room houses high-definition video servers and equipment temperature sensors. Hard drives contain all the individual files of faces. Generally, the computer programs run automatically to perform tasks such as determining when the face will pucker and, if weather conditions permit, when to turn the water on and off. It was determined that using low- rather than high-resolution images was both less expensive and an improvement on the optimal viewing point for the displays.[2]
Surveillance controversy
The fountain was the focus of a very public controversy as the city attempted to balance its duty to monitor public safety with aesthetic impact. In November 2006, the city added surveillance cameras to the tops of each of the Crown Fountain towers as part of a $52 million Department of Homeland Security grant given during the prior springtime to the Chicago area. The cameras at the fountain were but two of many installed throughout Millennium Park as part of this initiative.[15] The cameras were considered as a blight on the artistry of the park. Supposedly, the architects who collaborated with sculptor, Jaume Plensa, granted the city permission to append the cameras to the towers. The city also admitted that these are experimental cameras and the final version of surveillance will be less obtrusive.[16] The city claims that permanent cameras were intended to be built nearby to support the other eight cameras throughout Millennium Park. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stated that camera usage is prevalent throughout the city to monitor various types of areas including high-crime areas, pedestrian traffic areas such as train platforms and vehicular traffic areas such as intersections. However, Plensa had not been notified of the experimental camera placements. The blog and artist communities joined forces to decry the inappropriateness of the cameras. Despite the public claims of harmlessness, the day after the Chicago Tribune ran a story on the cameras, they were removed. Plensa supported the removal.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "Artropolis". Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Crown Fountain". Archi•Tech. Stamats Business Media. 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
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ignored (help) - ^ Bowden, Rachelle (2004-06-03). "Crown Fountain @ Millennium Park". Chicagoist. Gothamist LLC. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ Gross, Matt (2007-11-04). "Amid Architectural Glories, Piles of Cheap Fun". The New York Times Company.
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(help) - ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer (2006-07-18). "Nation Sweats as Heat Hits Triple Digits". The New York Times Company.
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(help) - ^ a b Nance, Kevin (2007-06-24). "Have you seen this face?; Many have yet to see their own images". Chicago Sun-Times. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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(help) - ^ a b Sander, Libby (2006-12-28). "A Tempest When Art Became Surveillance". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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(help) - ^ a b c Deyer, Joshua (2005). "Chicago's New Class Act" (PDF). PN. Paralyzed Veterans of America. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Millennium Park Grand Opening July 16-18; Weekend Long Celebration Features Free Events and Performances". Public Building Commission of Chicago. 2004-06-25. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ Bowden, Rachelle (2004-06-03). "Crown Fountain @ Millennium Park". Chicagoist. Gothamist LLC. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
- ^ a b c "The Crown Fountain". Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ a b c d "Crown Fountain". a weekly dose of architecture. 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ Wahl, Gretchen (2005-05-16). "Fountain face-off". ChicagoBusiness. Crain Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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(help) - ^ "A Walk in the Park: Part II". Architecture, Art, Optics. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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(help) - ^ Janega, James (2006-12-20). "Artworks stand alone as cameras lose perch". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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(help) - ^ Janega, James (2006-12-19). "Now the Giant Faces Really are Watching". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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