Postcards from Chicago #3 Calder’s Flamingo

by Wes Douglas, USk Chicago

As we look forward to the 8th International
Symposium, I will continue to take you on a virtual tour of my favorite views
of Chicago which I have named “Postcards from Chicago.” Each
week I will post a different scene of Chicago – some may be familiar to you and
some may be less familiar – and by the time I am done it should be time for the
Symposium. To help me illustrate the popularity of this sculpture, I am happy
to feature the work of Chicago Urban Sketchers Andrew Banks and Daniel Young.

Alexander Calder’s abstract stabile anchors
the large rectangular plaza bordered by three Bauhaus style federal buildings
designed by Mies van der Rohe. The sculpture’s vivid color and curvilinear form
contrast dramatically with the angular steel and glass surroundings. It can be found in the Federal Center Plaza at 50 West Adams.

However, the Flamingo is constructed from similar materials and shares certain design principles with the surrounding architecture, thereby achieving successful integration within the plaza. Despite its monumental proportions, the open design allows the viewer to walk under and through the sculpture, leading one to perceive it in relation to human scale.