Friday, August 23, 2013

Creepy or Art: "Borders" Sculpture Installation in Grant Park

There are 26 iron and aluminum sculptures like the ones
above in Sotli Garden.
You may have noticed the new art installation in Grant Park. “Borders” are 26 figures arranged in the Solti Garden section of Grant Park. The sculptures were created by Icelandic artist Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir. The silver and bronze figures are made of aluminum and iron respectively.

“Klaatu barada nikto”
We posted a picture of some of the sculptures to our Facebook page, with the heading “Creepy or Art.” The response was pretty overwhelmingly heavy toward the creepy side. Remember the giant eyeball, “The Eye,” in Pritzker Park at State Street and Van Buren? That sculpture creeped us out too. It reminded us of the 1950s science fiction thriller, The Crawling Eye. The silver sculputes in Solti Garden reminded us of Gort, the robot in the 1951 science fiction classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still. See a scene from this legendary film below.

Gort, the robot from
The Day The Earth Stood Still

Other Creepy Art
The “Agora” installed in Grant Park at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Roosevelt Rd. are a bit creepy too. Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz has been quoted as saying the headless and armless sculptures represent her fear of crowds. If this is true, then the creepy vibe was built into the art, so to speak.

What do you think? Creepy or art?

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