If you ride the #6 bus into downtown Chicago, as I’ve done many times, you turn onto Michigan Ave. from Roosevelt Road. There on the corner, in the lower section of Grant Park, are 106 headless and armless cast iron sculptures. It is a sight that first amazes, then intrigues the first time tourist to Chicago.
It is called “Agora,” by its creator, Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. The name Agora refers to the meeting places of the Ancient Greek city-states. Each sculpture is about nine feet high and weighs about 1,800 pounds. They were cast in Poland over a two-year period, then transported to Chicago. Installation took place in November of 2006.
The figures are similar in general shape, but differ in their details. Models for each figure were made by hand. The surfaces of figures are like a tree bark or wrinkled face expressing a different individuality of each sculpture. They all appear to be walking in different directions. As Mayor Daily once pointed out, one really needs to walk through it to understand and feel its meaning…and I agree with him.
Chicago is filled with such interesting works of art, many of which you have seen here, from crazy shaped bridges, to giant lattice works, legs, and even eyeballs. I have said it before, it is a wonderful place to just wander and see the diversity of people, neighborhoods, and, of course, art. Definitely put in on your to-do list if you have never been there.
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