

Not everyone will remember that its official name is Cloud Gate. We have experience with large, mirror-finished, stainless-steel pieces of art that look like they could be from outer space! Everyone in Chicago can tell you about The Bean. Houston, if you have a problem, give Stuart Dean a call. All of us love looking up and seeing our reflection in this beautiful Bean.


The vertical piece, 30 feet tall and reported as weighing in at 10.5 tons (21,000 lbs) may not be in the same weight class as its Chicago rival but in the hearts of Houstonians, it’s a heavyweight! The iconic Chicago Bean, located in the heart of Chicago in Millennium Park. Then the crew hand-polishes the steel with an environmentally friendly solution to achieve that mirrored look.Īnother of Kapoor’s sculpture’s, Cloud Column, has recently been installed in the Brown Foundation Plaza outside of the newly opened Glassell School of Art in Houston. Stuart Dean crews, working in off-hours, erect scaffolding and use a mild detergent and a low-pressure sprayer to remove dirt and bird droppings. Maintenance crews wipe down the bottom six-feet of the three-story sculpture several times a day with soft polishing cloths, but what about the rest of it? How does the ‘Bean’ keep that high shine all year long? Add in a flock of pigeons and – you get the idea! The 168 stainless steel plates that form the exoskeleton were welded together and polished to a seamless mirror-finish.Īnyone who’s worked to keep stainless steel appliances fingerprint-free can appreciate the monumental task of maintaining the metallic luster of Cloud Gate. But soon, throngs of people were drawn to. The Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor is lovingly referred to as ‘The Bean’. It is 66 feet long, 33 feet high, 42 feet wide and weighs in at 110 tons (yes – 220,000 lbs!). When it was first unveiled, some called it unimaginative, and thats how it got the name The Electric Kidney Bean. With “The Bean” popping up, type a specific question at the bottom and the AI tool will bring up answers or suggested info tabs.There’s a new Bean in town! Articles Case Studies Then, on the lower right hand side of the screen, look for a bean-shaped symbol. To use this tool to find out more about what to see and do in Chicago, first log onto. What gives the Cloud Gate, or okay, the Bean, its shiny silver surface is inspired by liquid mercury but is touchable.īut let’s go back to the new AI Bean. Chicago: Bean there, done that Chicago, where have you bean all my life I’m deep dish -appointed I didn’t eat more pizza in Chicago Blown away by the Windy City Finally made it to Chicago. The Cloud Gate was designed by Indian born sculptor Anish Kapoor, and it is his first permanent public outdoor work in the United States. The original bean, or actually officially known as the Cloud Gate, was unveiled in 2004. “However, after talking with Choose Chicago, we realized that our friend, The Bean, could be a great help to all of the visitors to Chicago so we are happy to be part of this project.” “We were surprised, and quite frankly, a little alarmed, when The Bean came to us and asked if we would be open to this new idea, after all we did not know The Bean had become sentient,” said Scott Stewart, the foundation’s executive director. "The Bean" AI tool can also pre-populate subjects to look up.
