50-Ton Constructivist Flamingo with Letter Carrier by Chipka
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Description
50-Ton Constructivist Flamingos are pretty hard to come by. You don’t see them very often. Chicago has one, and I’m sure it’s the only one in the Midwest. I suspect the main reason behind the scarcity of 50-Ton Constructivist Flamingos is due—quite simply—to the fact that they don’t reproduce. I could be wrong about that, however. The world, as I’ve come to recognize it, is full of surprises.
Well, at any rate, there is only one such beastie and it lives—rather quietly—in Chicago’s Federal Plaza. It’s a cryptic thing and people come from all over to see it: mostly to see whether or not it is an actual flamingo. So far, the verdict seems to be that it’s something else: those who look at it are often driven to give it more poetic (and sometimes) less complimentary names. I accept that it is actually a flamingo, though I have yet to see an actual vermillion flamingo with rivets in it. I will admit that it’s striking, impressive, and rather large.
I took this—and its companion piece earlier in my gallery—on one of the days that Corey and I found ourselves wandering around. The day began with clouds and ended with a brilliant flare of sunset. We saw the Flamingo during a cloudy period, and so it’s garish vermillion hue was quite a refreshing sweep of color: as if a painter had decided to simply swipe his brush across reality, and then walk away. The Flamingo was not our target, but we captured it anyway. There were skateboarders nearby, but they were skittish and camera-shy, despite their skill at getting about on small planks of wood with wheels on them: quite impressive when you realize just how long those things stay airborne as the skateboarders decide what obstacles to jump, dodge, or incorporate into jumps over still other obstacles. I’m sure I’ll capture a few skateboarders in the future: perhaps in Prague (if/when I return there. Czech skateboarders are easier to photograph, especially at the city’s enigmatic metronome. Or maybe in Russia, if photographing skateboarders is allowed. I’m sure it is, just as long as there aren’t big muckety-muck government buildings in the background.)
As I was unable to photograph skateboarders (both airborne and otherwise) to provide a bit of human scale to any of the Flamingo shots I achieved, I decided to go for the easier target of postal employees who weren’t looking. Chicago letter carriers are actually a bit more surly than skateboarders (well…some of them anyway, Chicago skateboarders can be pretty surly—and fragrant. I guess pheromone transmission is an important part of the oh-so-urban sport.) I got precious few size comparison shots that worked out well enough, but this is one of them. I must say that in looking at this picture, I’m truly awed at how big the Flamingo actually is. When you’re walking under it, or around it, the whole thing seems diminutive: particularly because of the buildings looming around it like mutant versions of those black monoliths in Stanley Kubrick’s/Arthrur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. For the first time, I’m aware of just how big the flamingo is, and I also see—for the first time—just how color-starved downtown Chicago really is, and how wonderfully refreshing the Flamingo actually is.
Oh, and by the way, I’ve just discovered that there actually is a skateboarder in this picture…only he doesn’t look like a skateboarder…oh well…at least I captured that much of what was happening in the largely empty Federal Plaza.
***
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (19)
CoreyBlack
Well, I appear to be the first person commenting on this. But by the time I'm through hunting and pecking I'm sure to have been eclipsed. This is a great shot of Alexander Caulder's interesting and at one time controversial(1973) sculpture. It really dominates the Plaza despite all the tall buildings mainly because the color is so bright. The buildings really do throw off the scale of the thing. If it was located in a greenspace park you could truly see how enormous it really is. It's hard for me to judge from being close to it but I would imagine that it's 50 or 60 feet tall and a couple hundred feet around. I could look it up on Wikipedia, I suppose, but am trying to get out of this Internet cafe before it closes. Anyway, I love this shot. Hard to believe I used to be a skateboarder once....
kgb224
A stunning capture my friend. The people underneath the structure gives a feeling of scale.
bmac62
Chip, you have me looking up all sorts of information on the Caulder Flamingo. But as I usually go wandering off down every side rabit trail I come to, I haven't learned much to spruce up this comment...other than the Flamingo is 53 feet high. This is a fascinating shot...and now I know not to cross a Chicago postalworker. I do recall the old phrase about "going postal". Super shot and great words once again:)
auntietk
Hmmmmm ... Well, I don't think it's a flamingo. Too many legs, for one thing. Flamingos generally have two, plus a very long neck. Even if it were standing on both feet with its head in the water, that's still only three bits on the ground, so to speak. I've found a photo of this sculpture taken from the top of the Sears Tower, and it looks QUITE different from the ground view. Hmmmmm ... I suppose whatever the artist says it is ... that's what it is! Personally, I just like the color and the swoopy vibe.
MrsRatbag
I think it's a petrified life form from another galaxy. The colour is what oxygen does to their metabolism, usually they're silver! Great capture, Chip!
MrsLubner
Well there goes my artistic evaluation abilities... I would have thought this was a giraffe. LOL Fun shot.
helanker
HAHA , I laugh of what PJ wrote :-) It is a very beautiful capture, but a flamingo? Hmmm I am not sure I can see that either. Nor a giraffe :-)
durleybeachbum
It must be so refreshing to look at that bright thing if you're stuck in the ghastly Mies V d R building!
Meisiekind
Oh dear Chip - I am afraid that I also do not see a flamingo... But then again - I'm not wearing my flamingo glasses today!!! I cannot even come up with anything this reminds me of... Silly me! I do love the red pop of color and I can say that it is huge!!! Great shot my friend!
rainbows
A great shot and a wonderful read, Chip. Hugs. Diane. xx
minos_6
Whilst I like the first post you made of this sculpture, I prefer this one. You've really captured the grace of the piece, and the contrast between the sculpture and its background is magnificent! As always, a nice narrative to put your work in perspective!
jmb007
belle sculture!!!
sandra46
i really like the saturated color of the flamingo, and how it looks much lighter than it is. Possibly because of the surrounding buildings, or the color, or the faxct that it doesn't look like collapsing on the post woman and spreading her on the pavement like some soft cheese...
flavia49
I love this artwork. Wonderful capture!!
danapommet
It is a monster size and I like this POV better. Dana
beachzz
Omg, a flamingo AND a letter carrier--for me, a very personal combination--I LOVE flamingos--and I WAS a letter carrier!!
myrrhluz
Wonderful contrast between the white concrete and dark buildings. It makes a great setting for the brilliant red of the sculpture. What a perfect read for my morning cup of tea. (My Saturday morning cup of tea is often drunk in the afternoon. :-)) There is a great difference in the mood of this shot to the last, which is explained briefly in the '50 ton' of your title. There is a massiveness that permeates this image. In your last capture there was a lightness and motion that made my mind easily see a Flamenco dancer, even if a flamingo was still a stretch. This image seems so heavy and firmly anchored to the ground (a good thing really, for when the Chicago winds blow) that it resembles neither. This feeling comes not only from the diminutive figures of the postal worker and other two, but also from the solid stance of its feet (and whatever) planted firmly in the white concrete. It is amazing what the different angles of the 'legs' meeting the pavement do to the feeling of lightness or lack thereof. Here they come basically straight down and plonk heavily into the ground. I like both images and enjoy the different reactions they bring out in me. Your words, as always, are a treat! (I see an abstract eye watching me look at the image. It's in the far left section of the glassed in area on the ground level, peeking out from behind the sculpture.)
praep
What a big red thing it is - you see a flamingo, someone other will see something completely different I think. I by myself don't like such steel-monsters - not enough organic, isn't it?! Nice find and well done shot.
MOSKETON
fantastica.