Our favorite fountain in Chicago consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from 1000 Chicago citizens sampled by the artist on LCD screens behind the block glass. The faces are a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Every five minutes or so the images on the screen round their lips and start to spit water out on the crowds of children waiting. It is the perfect stop on a hot Chicago day in August.
Spitting fountain (aka Crown Fountain)
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One response to “Spitting fountain (aka Crown Fountain)”
Ooh – I used to be able to see this fountain from my apartment when I lived in Chicago. I secretly always wanted to run down in my bathing suit to enjoy the spitting water face on hot days…