T his is no ordinary beast. Not in a fairy tale, not in a horror flick. In Chicago! Standing like some sort of alien beast or indescribable "THING" in the plaza outside the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago, Jean Dubuffet’s "Monument with Standing Beast" roars for attention, and gets it. This striking sculpture, a monument which visitors literally get into, was unveiled November 28, 1984, purchased as a gift to the state by private donors. It was built in 1984 after a scale model made in 1969, as part of the projects originally proposed to the Chase Manhattan Bank, who finally chose the Group de Quatre Arbes instead. These projects are all made up of many assembled pieces allowing circulation by means of cut-out doors. This sculpture is connected to the Hourloupe cycle, which first appeared in Dubuffet’s art made up of multiple cells where each space takes on life, as part of the theory that there is continuity between objects, places and figures. Spectators are not just in front of the monument, but literally in it, and art becomes an architectural structure to experience. Though it looks like concrete painted white and black like a Keith Haring figure, it’s made of fiberglass and epoxy resins with polyurethane paints and stands 29 feet high and weighs a beastly 10 tons. Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) created his own Foundation nearly 10 years before his death in order to keep a significant collection of his work together. Today, his earlier models are enlarged as works of art carried out by those who had worked with the artist, under the control of the Dubuffet Foundation who supervises each step from the model’s mold to its final installation. For more information, see the Dubuffet Foundation at www.dubuffetfondation.com Photo credits: Joe Kunkel. The last photo, of Dubuffet in his studio circa 1970: Dubuffet Fondation, www.dubuffetfondation.com Please sign my guestbook! Questions? Comments? E-Mail the author at dalchicago@aol.com This article was originally posted on June 21, 2002. All Rights Reserved. Copyright (c) 2002, Joe Kunkel, Jetset - Designs for Modern Living. All Rights Reserved. Home - Top of Page