Claus Oldenberg's Batcolumn, Chicago 1993 (20656703)

''Batcolumn'' (or ''Bat Column'') is a outdoor sculpture in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Designed by Claes Oldenburg, it takes the shape of a baseball bat standing on its knob. It consists of gray-painted

COR-TEN steel Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rus ...

arranged into an open

latticework __NOTOC__ Latticework is an openwork framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a grid or weave. Latticework may be functional &nda ...

structure. ''Batcolumn'' stands outside the Harold Washington Social Security Administration Building at 600 West Madison Street near downtown Chicago. The

United States General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

commissioned the sculpture, which was dedicated in 1977. Oldenburg originally designed the sculpture to be painted red, but he abandoned that idea to distinguish it from Chicago's '' Flamingo'' sculpture by Alexander Calder. Oldenburg instead had ''Batcolumn'' painted gray, which he also hoped would make the sculpture easier to see against the sky. A plaque on the sculpture reads, "Oldenburg selected the baseball bat as an emblem of Chicago's ambition and vigor. The sculpture's verticality echoes the city's dramatic skyline, while its form and scale cleverly allude to more traditional civic monuments, such as obelisks and memorial columns." The sculpture has been a source of controversy. On the day of its dedication, a number of people came to protest, holding signs saying "Tear it down" and "Expensive joke".Michael Hirsley. "Some strike out at the Batcolumn". ''Chicago Tribune''. April 15, 1977. 1. However, ''Batcolumn'' has also had its defenders. A 2005 ''Chicago Tribune'' article named it one of the newspaper's favorite Chicago sculptures (along with ''

Standing Lincoln ''Abraham Lincoln: The Man'' (also called ''Standing Lincoln'') is a larger-than-life size bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The original statue is in Lincoln Park in Chicago, and later re-castings o ...

'' and the lions outside the

Art Institute of Chicago Building The Art Institute of Chicago Building (1893 structure built as the ''World's Congress Auxiliary Building'') houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is part of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community are ...

References

External links

Claes Oldenburg (''Batcolumn'')
{{Public art in Chicago Outdoor sculptures in Chicago 1977 sculptures Steel sculptures in Illinois Sculptures by Claes Oldenburg Sculptures by Coosje van Bruggen

See also

References

External links