Monument with Standing Beast
| Monument With Standing Beast | |
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.JPG) | |
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| Artist | Jean Dubuffet |
| Year | 1984 |
| Type | Fiberglass |
| Dimensions | 8.8 m (29 ft) |
| Location |
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Monument with Standing Beast is a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet previously located in front of the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois.
History and description
[edit]It was across the street from Chicago City Hall to the South and diagonal across the street from the Daley Center to the southeast. Weighing 10 short tons (8.9 long tons; 9.1 t),[1][2] the structure was made of fiberglass and was 29 feet (8.8 m) tall.[1][3] It was unveiled on November 28, 1984.[2] The state government announced plans to relocate the sculpture after Alphabet Inc. acquired the building in 2022.[4] It was dismantled in the spring of 2024 and was bound for a state warehouse.[5]
This is one of Dubuffet's three monumental sculpture commissions in the United States. It has been taken to represent a standing animal, a tree, a portal and an architectural form.[3] The sculpture is based on Dubuffet's 1960 painting series Hourloupe.[6] The sculpture and the series of figural and landscape designs it is a part of reflects his thoughts of earliest monumental commission, for the One Chase Manhattan Plaza.[6]
The sculpture is one of 19 commissioned artworks funded under the State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program throughout the building.[6] This was commissioned by the Capital Development Board of Illinois.[6]
The sculpture is affectionately known to many Chicagoans as "Snoopy in a blender".[6][7]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- 1 2 "Monument with Standing Beast by Jean Dubuffet". WTTW Chicago. October 24, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- 1 2 "Dubuffet: Monument with Standing Beast". Chicago Public Library. August 1996. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- 1 2 "Artropolis". Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. 2007. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ↑ Sutton, Benjamin (August 1, 2022). "Chicago's Ten-Ton Jean Dubuffet Sculpture Will Be Relocated After Google Buys Building Where It Has Long Stood". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
- ↑ "Thompson Center artwork — Where did it all go?". Chicago Sun-Times. May 15, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Monument with Standing Beast". Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ↑ "Hey, homies, did you know . . . ?". Chicago Tribune. June 21, 2002. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2012.