Cloud Gate, or The Bean

Following the rock and roll of the Taste of Glen Ellyn, the photographic weekend continued on Sunday with a visit to Millennium Park, the striking new configuration of a portion of what was once called Grant Park along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.

The day of statues of generals on horseback or of statesmen giving speeches seems rooted deeply into the past. Modern statuary is much more often a form of so-called 'Modern Art,' some of which I love and some of which I confess not to understand much. The key location in Millennium Park is titled 'Cloud Gate,' but I doubt if the majority of Chicagoans would have any idea of that official title. Most everyone calls it 'The Bean,' and since you see the sculpture here, that nickname needs no explanation.

Striking, interesting, reflective: this work is so alive and so interactive that it is hard to image how anyone would dislike it. The highly-polished surface reflects the surrounding skyline, the blue of the sky on sunny days, the clouds . . . and the people visiting the park. Day and night, one of the things you see constantly is the amateur and the professional photographer, armed with upscale DSLRs or simple point-&-shoots or, for that matter, camera phones, each getting a creative viewpoint on the eye magnet called The Bean.

Some even like to take photos of people taking photos. We will look back in on the Park in some upcoming posts.