CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Agora is an installation of 106 headless cast-iron figures arranged in interesting groupings. Most of the figures are in monumental crowds, while several appear to be pulling away from the larger group. Agora is a Greek word, meaning: urban meeting place.

Installed: 2006
Sculptor: Magdalena Abakanowicz
Location: Grant Park, Chicago, IL

Agora by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Some figures are frozen in positions that suggest great movement, while others appear to be standing completely still.

Agora


Valued at more than $3 million, the 2006 installation is the work of internationally-acclaimed sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz.

The Grant Park Conservancy is a 501c(3) not-for-profit with a mission to provide a permanent body that enables Chicago's Grant Park to respond and adapt to the changing needs of its users, as the park passes from generation to generation. Some of these needs relate to landscaping, infrastructure, design, cultural activities and public art.

Agora


The figures are 9 ft tall and weigh approximately 1,800 lb. Each is made from a hollow, seamless piece of weathered iron, giving the pieces a reddish appearance and rough bark-like texture.

Agora


Abakanowicz donated her time as did a group of dedicated Polish artists who helped her construct the pieces in Poznan, Poland.

Agora


Chicago, which has a large Polish American community, worked to obtain a major work by Abakanowicz for several years before Agora arrived. By 2006, private donors, including actor Robin Williams, contributed over $700,000 to bring the work to Chicago.

Agora


The name Agora refers to the urban meeting places of the Ancient Greek city-states. Born just outside of Warsaw, Magdalena Abakanowicz (b. 1930) was deeply affected by World War II and the forty-five years of Soviet domination that followed. Abakanowicz said that her art draws on her fear of crowds, which she once described as "brainless organisms acting on command, worshiping on command and hating on command". However, the work has inspired optimistic interpretations. Kevin Nance of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "If they had arms and hands (they don't), these would be clasped behind their backs as if in contemplation. They seem, somehow, to be thinking, not as a group but as individuals. It's possible, in fact, to interpret the piece as a representation of democracy."

Agora


Images shared in this post were captured using Kodak Gold 200 film and a digital Sony a7II, on different days in late October and early November 2020. All editing was performed in Adobe Lightroom v6.

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erickter Loc: Dallas,TX

Interesting urban art series and narrative.

Irvingite Charles Loc: Irving, Tx

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Interesting.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Wandering among these must be reminiscent of how a small child feels in a crowd! A very interesting find!

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Paul, Thanks for the history of Agora and your fine Film images. The last one is my favorite. Need to put that place on my bucket list. Stan

Umnak Loc: Mount Vernon, Wa.

Outstanding work, as always Paul! Thanks for sharing these here.
I just look at your set on Flickr just a little while ago and hoped you'd post.
What's with the scary looking film on the face of the sculpture anyway?! Creepy but interesting!
Rob

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Paul,
Many thanks for the series of superb images in the various perspectives that give the viewer ( this one, anyway) a sense of being there among the artworks! Your recounting of the artist’s backstory added immeasurably to my appreciation of your post.
Many thanks,
Dave

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Stan. The installation location makes for odd light with the tall buildings on south and west. I think the morning through mid afternoon gives the best luck of light. It seems 24mm or wider is needed to 'see' both the details and the size of the subjects.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Rob. I've been looking at unedited / unpublished files recently to join with new(ish) work. Details on other images / subjects to follow.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you erickter, Irvingite Charles, John, Carol, Stan, Rob, Dave! On a whim I ordered some Kodak Gold to mix into my experiments with expired film. Although not the same day, this set is about the same time of day on similar days. Then, edited for similar results, but you can still see the differences. As mentioned in other comments, these sculptures are hard to photograph. You can't see them at once, except maybe with a drone shot I've seen recently.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Carol! I think there's even a 'crowd' in the middle where only a small child can squeeze into.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

Thanks for the art and the back story.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Interesting piece... Nice to see sculpture in a city.
It is humanizing.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Paul, thanks for sharing the photos and history. I would love to see it in person, it’s very dramatic. Being from Philadelphia, I have to ask if they are ever the target of graffiti.