NEWS PUBLIC ART

The story behind the ‘controversial’ Picasso sculpture

that became a symbol of Chicago
When it was first unveiled 50 years ago in the city centre, the
monumental "homely" figure was not beloved by all

By RUTH LOPEZ
7th August 2017 23:00 BST

Pablo Picasso was 85 when he gave the monumental untitled sculpture now famously known
as The Chicago Picasso to the city in 1967. The work precipitated an aesthetic shift in civic
and urban planning, broadening the idea of public art beyond the commemorative. In honor
of the 50th anniversary of the work’s unveiling, the Department of Cultural Affairs and
Special Events is hosting the event Everyone’s Picasso at Daley Plaza on Tuesday, 8 August, at
noon.

Paul Durica, a public historian who produces re-enactments and walking tours through his
Pocket Guide to Hell series, approached the city with the idea of restaging the dedication
ceremony a couple of years ago. Durica was intrigued not only by the scale of the 1967
unveiling—Mayor Richard J. Daley pulled a cord to release the drapery covering the
sculpture, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played, Gwendolyn Brooks read a poem written
for the occasion—but with the opportunity to help the public see the work anew. “After half a
century, the Chicago Picasso has become part of the built environment,” Durica says. Yet, as
is well documented, the Picasso angered and perplexed some politicos and members of the
public, either because of its abstraction or because of the artist’s leftist politics.

The sculpture might never have been in danger of being destroyed or being replaced with a
statue of Cubs baseball player Ernie Banks (per the wishes of one alderman), but for several
years, the word “controversial” preceded any mention of the work in the press. The Chicago
Tribune did an informal poll of the public passing by the sculpture which resulted in
comparisons to a baboon, a flying nun or “a cow sticking out its tongue”. Then it became a
symbol of Chicago. Since there was no copyright on The Chicago Picasso, the image started
turning up on merchandise and souvenirs. “As soon as you see it turning up on buttons and
coffee mugs, it stops being controversial,” said Durica. It appeared as a background extra in
films like The Blues Brothers and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Children began using The Picasso as a slide almost immediately, making it a de facto
interactive sculpture—a feature that factors in the instant success of two later public art
works in Chicago: Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate and Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain.

To prepare for the anniversary, Durica researched the archive at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
(SOM), one of the architectural firms that designed the plaza and civic centre, which was
later renamed after Mayor Daley. The architect William Hartmann first started the
conversation with Picasso and guided the project. Durica was able to study Hartmann’s notes
and read a collection of letters responding to the idea for the commission. When Hartmann
visited Picasso in the French Riviera in 1963, he brought a care package designed to give the
artist a flavour for Chicago that included a Native American warbonnet, a White Sox baseball
jersey, Bears football helmet, and photographs of Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sandburg. It
was noted that Picasso responded to the image of Hemingway the most, as the two had
become friends during their time Paris in the 1920s.

Mayor Daley unveils the Chicago Picasso in 1967

The 50-foot-high Picasso was fabricated at the American Bridge Division of US Steel in Gary,
Indiana out of Cor-Ten steel. A structural engineer at SOM scaled up the 42-inch artist-made
maquette (now in the collection of the Art Institute). It was assembled on site, hidden by
scaffolding and tarps, by a construction crew that welded and smoothed the 162-tonne
sculpture. Picasso was sent images of the process periodically, and approved of minor
structural revisions made to account for high winds.

Mark Kelly, Chicago’s current cultural commissioner, was 16 and living on the far southside
of city when the Picasso was installed. It was the subject of every news outlet and it
dominated family conversation. “The tone, and I remember it so vividly, was that we had
been had, this alien beast or whatever it is with no name arrived and some poseur artist has
played a joke on the city,” he said. But the Picasso captured his imagination. “I would like to
believe that I became a little more open and curious to my urban surroundings and to what
was considered art.”

But despite the controversy, even at the time of its unveiling the sculpture earned a grudging
respect. “It was nothing but a big, homely metal thing. That is all there is to it,” wrote the
columnist Mike Royko in the Chicago Daily News. “Some soaring lines, yes. Interesting
design, I'm sure. But the fact is, it has a long stupid face and looks like some giant insect that
is about to eat a smaller, weaker insect. It has eyes that are pitiless, cold, mean. But why not?
Everybody said it had the spirit of Chicago. And from thousands of miles away, accidentally
or on purpose, Picasso captured it.”

More News Topics Pablo Picasso Chicago Chicago focus

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