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New sculpture gives energy to State Street
23-Aug-13 – New artwork is decorating the new public plaza in the median of North State Street, just south of Wacker Drive. Give, a 14-foot-tall steel sculpture by Chicago artist Dusty Folwarczny, was unveiled on Thursday. The sculpture was previously located on the lakefront near Monroe Harbor. “The Gateway” plaza, which opened on June 7, was built by Chicago Loop Alliance, a non-profit organization. It is part of a Chicago Department of Transportation program. CLA executive director Michael Edwards sees the plaza as the direction for his alliance in its mission to develop and promote art in the Loop. “Place-making and place management have emerged as key priorities in Chicago Loop Alliance’s ongoing strategic planning process, and The Gateway is our first major experiment activating a public plaza in the Loop.” It is ok to walk through, stand, and even sit within the sculpture. Despite its size and strength, the artist who created the work says it is approachable. “When someone gives the side of Give a push, the steel wall has enough ‘give’ in it to bounce or rock in place a bit,” said Folwarczny in a CLA news release. “You feel strong for being able to move something so massive. The piece explores the act of giving – a transfer of energy from one person to another.”
(Above) Dusty Folwarczny installs her sculpture on August 7, one day before it was officially unveiled. Photo by Jyoti Srivastava. Local musicians will perform “unexpected pop-up concerts” on The Gateway over the noon hour twice a week but on unannounced days. The plaza will be open each day through the end of September. The Gateway does actually close at night. At the request of 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, a CLA “clean team” locks up the tables and chairs at 10 p.m., and then returns by morning to open the space.
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