Crown Fountain

The Chicagoist posts a picture of the soon-to-be-completed Crown Fountain in Millennium Park. Designed by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, the Fountain is located in the southwest corner of the Park, across the street from the Art Institute's shady sculpture garden.


Image found at Chicagoist

Renderings of the project show images of faces, created by LED screens on the two opposing towers, spitting water into the shallow pool (1/8" deep) between the two glass towers. According to the artist, for a few moments the faces will act like gargoyles, at other times faces will oppose each other in an effort to make us think about duality, one of the piece's main ideas.



At about five stories high, each tower is roughly the proportion of a brick, covered in what looks like bricks made of ice or glass, giving the fountain an ephemeral look and making for an interesting sight even without any images.

When the fountain is opened in late July, I'm sure it will be a welcome addition to the hodge-podge that is Millennium Park.

Update 06.04: Chicago Public Radio has an interview with the fountain's artist, Jaume Plensa. Listen to it in Real Audio here (Thanks to Edward for the link).