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 A photo gallery of the making of Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park
 -by Lynn Becker




In preparation for creating his Crown Fountain in Chicago's new Millennium Park, Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa made video portraits of the faces of over 1,000 Chicagoans. The fountain consists of two 50-foot high towers, created in collaboration with the Chicago architectural firm of Krueck and Sexton, that face each other across a 48-foot wide pool, flush with the sidewalk level. The thin layer of water that bubbles up from several pumps along the surface flows in an unbroken sheet to a razor-thin moat along the periphery where the water flows back down to recirculate.
March, 2004 - the towers for Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain take shape.

 

  
  
  

Early July - testing of fountain video displays.

Opening Day - July 16th, 2004 - Videos of Chicagoan's faces are projected on the LED displays behind the glass block walls of Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain.

Every twelve minutes, each projected face becomes a gargoyle as he or she purses their lips and a spout of water spews forth. The image then disappears, and water cascades down all the sides of the towers. Parents stand along the periphery of the fountain, watching in delight as their equally delighted children wade through the thin slab of water.

 

lynnbecker@lynnbecker.com

Text and photographs © Copyright 2004 Lynn Becker All rights reserved.

Related Links

  Grant Park Music Festival
  Millennium Park