Results tagged “thebean”

Is there no decency in the world? With Mayor Daley the enemy of graffiti artists everywhere, the kids these days have gone to new lengths to deface the city's property. Sometime in the last day or so, someone scratched the name "Peters" (or "Peter S") on The Bean (proper name "The Cloud Gate"). The name was six inches long by one inch tall and was found "on the northeast quarter of the sculpture on the outside facade, about 3 feet off the ground." A park security officer discovered the vandalism yesterday afternoon and police are currently investigating the incident. So remember, children: bulldozing giant X's on a runway = okay, but scratching your name on an iconic work of art = bad.

The Olympic flame isn’t the only big red ball that gets to travel around the world. An installation art piece titled the RedBall Project that has been bouncing around the globe since 2001, adopting various urban landscapes on its seemingly unending world tour, will be kickin’ it around Chicago all next month.

Writer Amy Krouse Rosenthal has already done 17 things pretty much all on her own, but she’s looking to the people of Chicago to help her accomplish the next item on her list. Being that tomorrow is 8.8.08, she invites us to join her at precisely 8:08 p.m. tomorrow night at the Bean in Millennium Park to celebrate all that is great about 8. There’s nothing particularly historic or meaningful about this date and time, it’s just one of life’s little coincidental quirks that's sometimes fun to revel in. We’ve always been a fan of the number 4, so maybe this will be twice the fun. No matter what, it’s got to be more jubilant than 6.6.06.

Today's the last day to let us know you want to be a contributor for Chicagoist! Please let us know what you'd want to cover and please oh please include a sample post so we can get a feel for your writing. E-mail chicagoistapply@gmail.com and knock our socks off. Tough to beat Joshua Mellin's title "The Bean Is Secure, Over."...

Chicago basically shuts down on Christmas Day and, with few exceptions, the artsy folk follow suit. It’s one of only three days all year The Art Institute’s in hibernation. Mondays are typically slow anyhow, so we’ll barely feel inconvenienced. On the 25th, family, worship, Chinese food and a movie, and/or that date with Shaq and Kobe take priority.

"An abandoned hotdog in the middle of the U.S. Cellular Field parking lot" via abmarfia in Contribute.

The Mandarin Oriental Tower is vying to be the next big development in the Millennium Park/New East Side/Shadow of the Prudential Buildings area. One of the few luxury property chains that hasn’t yet set their claws into downtown, the Mandarin promises a new level of mondo luxury on Stetson Street in 2009, when residents and executives will be spared schlepping a few blocks north for spa treatments and pretty desserts.

Billy, you done gone and done it to us again. Every time we think you’re about to slip out of the public consciousness you pop right back up with yet another crazy scheme to keep yourself relevant. Well, maybe not relevant. Let’s settle for “talked about.”

Motorola is the corporate brand rated most valuable in Chicago. Boeing came in 2nd, McDonalds 3rd, Walgreens 4th and Caterpiller came in 5th. The IL Assn. of Realtors reports that home prices in the area kept climbing during the 1st quarter even though sales of houses and condos were down. Sun-Times has an interesting look at how the neighborhoods of Portage Park, Uptown, Lakeview, Near South Side, and West Lawn are changing. Salvador "Tony"...

The Bean is finally finished, and it’s getting the royal treatment today at a dedication ceremony. The sculpture has already become a Chicago icon and will be featured on the uniforms of Team Chicago at this summer’s Gay Games VII.

Cloud Gate a.k.a. The Bean via wood tang. See more of his Segway tour photos here.

In an annual standard of living report, Chicago came in (tied with Washington DC) at 41st place. The study ranks the quality of life in the world's major cities. Zurich came in first, Baghdad last. The top US city is Honolulu. It's nice out and everyone's pulling out their bikes, but who needs a bike when you've got the LimoJet? The Bean is finally finished. Junk food in schools is still ok for now....

Wild Bean Cafe says that because "The Bean" sculpture in Millennium Park is covered, they're bringing a big bean to the downtown area.. which is kind of misleading because when we asked them where their new cafe is going to be they told us that they're located in all BP gas stations. And when we said "but where is that down here?" they said "well, the closest one is down on Roosevelt." Which kind of makes no sense to Chicagoist.

Though the summer’s not quite over yet, yesterday’s Chicago Tribune took a look at what’s next for Chicago’s newest music venues.

Chicago tourists and residents have been waiting patiently for The Bean to finish its summer-long striptease and come Monday, they’ll finally get to see the goods. On Monday, the sculpture known as Cloud Gate in the brochures (and as The Bean to pretty much everybody else) will begin a slow unveiling that will be completed on August 28th. The shiny centerpiece of Millennium Park has spent most of the summer under wraps as workers have...

So the buzz all around the internet yesterday was how it's come to light that Millennium Park is a copyrighted public space and that photographers have been getting hassled for taking photographs at the park. An official has been quoted as saying "The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist."

Which seems like it would be an easy game, if not very fun. But what about when the bean is 66 feet long and 33 feet tall and weighs 110 tons? That's when you build a tent around it and pretend that you didn't rush the unveiling before it was ever finished.