Rotoscope Project 4

Final Pattern Project

Martha's Project

I added more green to the crocodile. It was looking a bit muggy. Also I brought some of the flowers on top of the croc to connect the background to him. The area where the red meets the beige flower area could be defined. Maybe if you darken the beige are so it recedes and makes it appear like it is going back ?

Peacock in Progress

Juame Plensa

This past summer I had the opportunity to visit Chicago. While I was out visiting I came across many magnificent public sculptures. Of course there was the famous Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor. But on my last trip to Millennium Park, a different sculpture stood out to me, Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa.


Jaume Plensa is a Spanish artist from Barcelona, born in 1955. He has work installed all over the world, including Spain, France, Japan, Canada, and United States of America. Most of his work is public sculptures both indoors and outdoors.


Crown Fountain is a public fountain sculpture piece that stands about 50 feet tall and is installed at Millennium Park in Chicago. The fountain is composed of two-glass tower structures that stand facing one another. The structures have within them a projection system that displays photos of the faces of citizens in the Chicago community. The faces on the towers randomly change to show about 1,000 citizens that live in Chicago. Where the projection of the mouth is there is a spout that water flows out of. Between the two towers is a pool of water that people can walk over.


After researching the artist himself, I realized I have had many other encounters with his work. On that same visit to Chicago, I also visited Grand Rapids, Michigan. While in Grand Rapids, I went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, where I saw one of Plensa’s sculptures, I, You, She or He. This piece was made out of stainless steel and stone. Then in September I was at Madison Square Park in New York, where I saw Plensa’s piece Echo.


Of the three works of Plensa’s that I have seen in person, they all share a similarity in that they have a theme of faces and a way of engaging the public with the art work. In Crown Fountain there is a digital interaction and conversation between the faces on the towers as well as a live interaction between the viewers. When walking pass this piece on a summer Chicago day, it is filled with children playing in the water while their parents stand nearby watching not only their children, but the faces on the displays change. Watching the children play brings back a sense of nostalgia. This sculpture allows for a place of social interaction as well as whimsical fun. Sitting at the park and watching these interactions occur between strangers was enjoyable. There is a sense of connection between the artwork and the community with the use of faces from the Chicago pool. The use of material is fun and interactive, which makes this piece one that more individuals will be intrigued by. For example, when I was observing the interactions occurring, I was with my boyfriend who is the type of guy that would rather play basketball then go look at art. Even he stopped to look at this piece and was captivated by the digital faces changing and then even more excited when the spout poured out water. So, what I am getting at here is that the use of material excites the sensory experience of a wide general audience. Plensa has engaged an entire community with his piece and overall reaching this feeling of togetherness of the people. The material choice also flows with its location. Surrounding the Crown Fountain are tall buildings in the city of Chicago. It is natural and fitting to have two 50-feet high glass towers in midst of these immense skyscrapers. Typically fountains are put up in parks as mere decoration or tribute. The difference with Crown Fountain is that you are not standing there and watching the fountain but are standing in the middle of it and becoming apart of it.


In I, You, She or He there is an interaction between the three figures. A conversation is occurring between them, but as a viewer I want to be a part of that conversation and place myself within it. Echo is installed in the middle of the park and towers about 46 feet high. The massiveness of this piece is just asking for interaction from the public. Overall, I am intrigued by the duality and relationship to life in Plensa’s work. The connection between nature and body through use of light and water in his fountain piece is very conceptual. His pieces are also very contemporary and fitting to the public spaces in which they are installed. It is evident that there is well executed thoughts and decisions made my Plensa form material to location to meaning and interpretation.

Wallpaper of Pattern

Tile for Pattern