The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism , but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for all sculptures that are large. Human figures that are perhaps half life-size or above would usually be considered monumental in this sense by art historians, although in contemporary art a rather larger overall scale is implied. Monumental sculpture is therefore distinguished from small portable figurines , small metal or ivory reliefs , diptychs and the like.
44-589: The Chicago Picasso (often just The Picasso ) is an untitled monumental sculpture by Pablo Picasso in Daley Plaza in Chicago, Illinois . The 1967 installation of The Picasso , "precipitated an aesthetic shift in civic and urban planning, broadening the idea of public art beyond the commemorative." The COR-TEN steel structure, dedicated on August 15, 1967, in the civic plaza in the Chicago Loop ,
88-645: A maquette of the sculpture in 1965, and approved a final model of the sculpture in 1966. The cost of constructing the sculpture was $ 351,959.17 (equivalent to $ 3.2 million in 2022), paid mostly by three charitable foundations: the Woods Charitable Fund, the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation, and the Field Foundation of Illinois. Picasso himself was offered payment of $ 100,000 but refused, stating that he wanted to make his work
132-412: A chapter analysing the carved capitals at Moissac , says: "in the tympanum of the south portal [ (right) ] the sculpture of Moissac becomes truly monumental. It is placed above the level of the eye, and is so large as to dominate the entire entrance. It is a gigantic semi-circular relief ...", size is certainly the dominant part of what he means by the word, and Schapiro's further comments suggest that
176-580: A convincing case for Jacqueline Roque Picasso as the model for the Chicago sculpture. The Picasso was the site of an August 23, 1968, press conference in which Yippies Jerry Rubin , Phil Ochs , and others were arrested after nominating a pig — Pigasus — for president of the United States. This event was held days before the opening of the 1968 Democratic National Convention , which became known for its anti-Vietnam war protests . The sculpture
220-560: A form of speculation , than they are in acquiring any profit through rental income. Slumlords with this "business model" may not maintain their properties at all or pay municipal property taxes and fines they tend to accrue in great quantities. Knowing it will take years for a municipality to condemn and seize, or possibly tear down, a property, the slumlord may count on selling it before this happens. Such slumlords may not even bother to keep up with their mortgage payments if they become equity-rich but cash-poor or if they feel that they can sell
264-461: A giant pickle on the proposed site for his client, Pickle Packers International. There was speculation on the subject, which has ranged from a bird , or aardvark to Picasso's pet Afghan Hound , a baboon head, the Egyptian deity Anubis , or Sylvette David , one of his models. Newspaper columnist Mike Royko , covering the unveiling of the sculpture, wrote: "Interesting design, I'm sure. But
308-560: A gift to the city. An architect who worked on the Daley Center project, Richard Bennett, wrote Picasso a poem asking him to make the sculpture. Picasso accepted saying "You know I never accept commissions to do any sort of work, but in this case I am involved in projects for the two great gangster cities" (the other being Marseille , France). The sculpture was fabricated by the American Bridge Company division of
352-639: A government for more money than it is worth as a part of urban renewal , or by investors as the neighborhood in which it is situated undergoes gentrification . In Johannesburg , regions suffering from urban decay frequently have landlords whom the government believes exploit their tenants, making them stay in buildings that fail to meet fire codes. In Britain, local councils deal with private landlords; without adequate scrutiny this can result in landlords being able to fill properties below rental code with subsidized tenants. Some slumlords are more interested in profit they have acquired through property " flipping ,"
396-481: A halt to religious monumental sculpture in the regions concerned, and greatly reduced production of any monumental sculpture for several centuries. Byzantine art , which had largely avoided the societal collapse in the Western Roman Empire , never resumed the use of monumental figurative sculpture, whether in religious or secular contexts, and was to ban even two-dimensional religious art for a period in
440-518: A lack of "excess of virtuousity" does not form part of what he intends to convey. Nonetheless, parts of the Murray's concept ("grand, noble, elevated in idea") are included in his meaning, although "simple in conception and execution" hardly seems to apply. It is only in wealthy societies that the possibility of creating sculptures that are large but merely decorative really exists (at least in long-lived materials such as stone), so for most of art history
484-511: A male baboon viewed from head-on. "Picasso loved the way the creature changed as you viewed it from different angles"; it was part of a continuation of his lifelong inspiration from Africa. There was an ongoing dialogue between Picasso's sculpture and his painting. A further possible influence could lie in his portraits of Jacqueline herself, made in the early 1960s, specifically Bust of a Woman (Jacqueline) from May 1962 (Zervos XX, 243, Private Collection). The historian Patricia Stratton has made
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#1732776206697528-466: A reputation as a black-power leader, and Johnny Edgecombe , who became a promoter of jazz and blues, which helped to keep him in the limelight. In locations with rent control and where there is legal protection of tenants, some landlords may rent out properties illegally. For instance, in the United Kingdom, there has arisen a practice of illegal subletting of social housing homes where
572-482: A statue that I created for Daley Plaza in Chicago and I do think of him sometimes while I am in my studio. Some have speculated it may have been inspired by a French woman, Sylvette David , now known as Lydia Corbett, who posed for Picasso in 1954. Then 19 years old and living in Vallauris, France , Corbett would accompany her artist boyfriend as he delivered chairs made of metal, wood and rope. One of those deliveries
616-729: A very early stage. When a culture ceases to produce monumental sculpture, there may be a number of reasons. The most common is societal collapse , as in Europe during the so-called Dark Ages or the Classic Maya collapse in Mesoamerica . Another may be aniconism , usually religiously motivated, as followed the Muslim conquests . Both the rise of Christianity (initially) and later the Protestant Reformation brought
660-500: Is 50 feet (15.2 m) tall and weighs 162 short tons (147 t). The Cubist sculpture by Picasso, who later said that it represented the head of his Afghan Hound, was the first monumental abstract public artwork in Downtown Chicago, and has become a well-known landmark. Publicly accessible, it is known for its inviting jungle gym -like characteristics. Visitors to Daley Plaza can often be seen climbing on and sliding down
704-612: Is also used to describe sculpture that is architectural in function, especially if used to create or form part of a monument of some sort, and therefore capitals and reliefs attached to buildings will be included, even if small in size. Typical functions of monuments are as grave markers, tomb monuments or memorials , and expressions of the power of a ruler or community, to which churches and so religious statues are added by convention, although in some contexts monumental sculpture may specifically mean just funerary sculpture for church monuments . The third concept that may be involved when
748-411: Is one who keeps a shopping mall in a bad shape and may not pay taxes until the government buys or confiscates it. The origin of the term "slumlord" is unknown, but an early mention can be found in the 1927 journal article "Theories, Facts, and Figures" by William L. Hare in the academic journal Garden Cities & Town Planning: A Journal of Housing, Town Planning & Civic Improvement Hare credits
792-532: Is worth more to potential buyers. In contrast, slumlords usually do not contract with property management services, do very little or no maintenance on their property, sometimes just enough to meet minimum local requirements for habitability. In some circumstances, such as in Cleveland during the first years of the Great Migration , landlords increased rents for African Americans in order to exploit
836-517: The Byzantine iconoclasm . "Monumental sculpture" is still used within the stoneworking and funeral trades to cover all forms of grave headstones and other funerary art, regardless of size. In contemporary art, however, the term is used to refer to all large sculptures regardless of purpose, and also carries a sense of permanent, solid, objects, rather than the temporary or fragile assemblages used in much contemporary sculpture. Sculptures covered by
880-537: The Indus Valley civilization , appear to have had no monumental sculpture at all, though producing very sophisticated figurines and seals. The Mississippian culture seems to have progressing towards its use, with small stone figures, when it collapsed. Other cultures, such as Ancient Egypt and the Easter Island culture , seem to have devoted enormous resources to very large-scale monumental sculpture from
924-612: The United States Steel Corporation in Gary, Indiana using COR-TEN steel, before being disassembled and relocated to Chicago. The steel for this statue was rolled in the USS Gary Works 160/210" plate mill, then the largest rolling mill of its kind in the world. Before fabrication of the final steel sculpture was started, a 3.5 meter (~12 feet) tall wooden model was constructed for Picasso to approve; this
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#1732776206697968-523: The "wealth" of the poor with little regard either to the future generations or the welfare of their current tenants. In effect, they thus consider slumlording a force running exactly counter to gentrification . Whereas gentrification describes the result of a plurality of local landlords making decisive improvements to rental properties which add value to their rental units, justify hiking rent rates, eliminate less-affluent tenants and generally raise neighborhood property values, slumlording naturally results in
1012-436: The 'polemical press' of the time for referring to landlords of areas referred to as slums as slumlords. Traditionally, real estate is seen as a long-term investment to most buyers. Especially in the developed world , most landlords will properly maintain their properties even when doing so proves costly in the short term, in order to attract higher rents and more desirable tenants in the long run. A well-maintained property
1056-486: The 1988 film Switching Channels starring Kathleen Turner, Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeve. The Chicago Picasso became and continues to be a well-known meeting spot for Chicagoans. Depending on the season and time of the month, there are musical performances, farmers' markets, a Christkindlmarkt , and other Chicago affairs which are held around the Picasso in Daley Plaza . Monumental sculpture The term
1100-523: The Baltic countries. Usually, informal renting consists of not giving any proof of payment, meaning the slumlord is able to change the price day by day and intimidate tenants out of seeking help from local authorities. People who have negative opinions of slumlords hold them primarily responsible for causing declining local property values and for the eventual creation of whole neighborhoods of shanty buildings. Some of these people say that slumlords leech away
1144-414: The L all his life." At a reception for the unveiling of a large piece of public sculpture commissioned by a New York University, Picasso told Stanley Coren that the head of the sculpture is an abstract representation of his Afghan Hound named Kabul. Right now I have an Afghan Hound named Kabul. He is elegant, with graceful proportions, and I love the way he moves. I put a representation of his head on
1188-475: The Real Family Story . Picasso made 40 works inspired by her, said the grandson, including The Girl Who Said No , reflecting their platonic relationship . The quality of the Picasso sculpture inspired other artists such as Alexander Calder , Marc Chagall , Joan Miró , Claes Oldenburg and Henry Moore . In the 1970s Jacqueline Picasso explained to Neil Thomas, an Australian lady, it was simply
1232-600: The base of the sculpture. The sculpture was commissioned in 1963 by the architects of the Chicago Civic Center (now known as the Richard J. Daley Center ), a modernist government office building and courthouse (also clad in COR-TEN), with an open granite-paved plaza. The commission was facilitated by the architect William Hartmann of the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill . Picasso completed
1276-438: The city's actions had resulted in the sculpture being dedicated to the public domain . The sculpture was initially met with controversy. Before the Picasso sculpture, public sculptural artwork in Chicago was mainly of historical figures. One derisive Chicago City Council alderman , John Hoellen , immediately proposed replacing it with a statue of Chicago Cubs baseball great Ernie Banks , and publicist Algis Budrys erected
1320-530: The different senses of the term cause no difficulties. The term may be used differently for different periods, with breaks occurring around the Renaissance and the early 20th century: for ancient and medieval sculpture size is normally the criterion, though smaller architectural sculptures are usually covered by the term, but in the Early Modern period a specific funerary function may be meant, before
1364-591: The difficulties they had getting accommodation. Claims as regards this led to the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce to conduct a survey which concluded that Blacks paid 65% more for equivalent housing than did the White tenants. Also, slumlords are often willing to rent to less-desirable tenants that are not able to pass background checks , such as persons on a sex offender registry . As such they typically do not enter into long-term lease agreements, doing only
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1408-407: The enduring, stable, and timeless nature of great architecture. ... It is not a synonym for 'large'. However, this does not constitute an accurate or adequate description of the use of the term for sculpture, though many uses of the term that essentially mean either large or "used in a memorial" may involve this concept also, in ways that are hard to separate. For example, when Meyer Schapiro , after
1452-402: The fact is, it has a long stupid face and looks like some giant insect that is about to eat a smaller, weaker insect." Royko did credit Picasso with understanding the soul of Chicago. "Its eyes are like the eyes of every slum owner who made a buck off the small and weak. And of every building inspector who took a wad from a slum owner to make it all possible. ... You'd think he'd been riding
1496-498: The minimum term required by law (e.g. month-to-month), and as such prosecute many evictions . It is also frequent for the slumlord to receive rent in cash to avoid disclosing it for tax purposes. Thus, in the United States, slumlords would normally not participate in government-subsidized programs such as Section 8 , due to the requirements both to report all income received and to keep properties well-maintained. A slumlord may also hope that his property will eventually be purchased by
1540-666: The payment of what are usually regarded as full-time sculptors, is considered a mark of a relatively advanced culture in terms of social organization. In Ancient Egypt , the Great Sphinx of Giza probably dates to the 3rd millennium BC, and may be older than the Pyramids of Egypt . The discovery in 1986 of an ancient Chinese Bronze Age 8.5 foot tall bronze statue at Sanxingdui disturbed many ideas held about early Chinese civilization, since only much smaller bronzes were previously known. Some undoubtedly advanced cultures, such as
1584-620: The property before it goes into foreclosure and is taken by their lender, typically a six- to eight-month process at the quickest. One example of a slumlord is Peter Rachman , a landlord who operated in Notting Hill , London , in the 1950s and until his 1962 death. He became notorious for exploitation of his tenants , with the word " Rachmanism " entering the Oxford English Dictionary . His henchmen included Michael de Freitas (aka Michael X/Abdul Malik), who created
1628-482: The size criterion) in a culture, is regarded as of great significance, though tracing the emergence is often complicated by the presumed existence of sculpture in wood and other perishable materials of which no record remains; the totem pole is an example of a tradition of monumental sculpture in wood that would leave no traces for archaeology. The ability to summon the resources to create monumental sculpture, by transporting usually very heavy materials and arranging for
1672-413: The tenant illegally rents out the home at a higher rent. In Sweden, rental contracts with regulated rent can be bought on the black market, either from the current tenant or sometimes directly from the property owner. Specialised black-market dealers assist the property owners with such transactions. Informal renting takes place in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, India, England, and
1716-682: The term in modern art are likely to be over two metres in at least one dimension, and sufficiently large not to need a high plinth , though they may have one. Many are still commissioned as public art , often for placing at outdoor sites . Slumlord A slumlord (or slum landlord ) is a slang term for a landlord , generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance , and usually rents to tenants that they can intimidate. Severe housing shortages allow slumlords to charge higher rents and, when they can get away with it, to break rental laws. A "retail slumlord"
1760-476: The term is used is not specific to sculpture, as the other two essentially are. The entry for "Monumental" in A Dictionary of Art and Artists by Peter and Linda Murray describes it as: The most overworked word in current art history and criticism. It is intended to convey the idea that a particular work of art, or part of such a work, is grand, noble, elevated in idea, simple in conception and execution, without any excess of virtuousity, and having something of
1804-577: The typical meaning once again comes to refer to size alone for contemporary sculpture. The relevant chapters in Parts 2-4 of The Oxford History of Western Art are titled as follows: "Monumental Sculpture to c.1300", "Monumental Sculpture 1300–1600", "Free-standing Sculpture c.1600–c.1700", "Forms in Space c.1700–1770", "Sculptures and Publics" (1770–1914). In archeology and art history the appearance, and sometimes disappearance, of monumental sculpture (using
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1848-596: Was eventually sent to the Gary Career Center. Ground was broken in Daley Plaza for the construction of the sculpture on May 25, 1967. The efforts of the City of Chicago to publicize the sculpture — staging a number of press events before the sculpture was completed, and displaying the maquette without a copyright notice — were cited as evidence in a 1970 U.S. District Court case where the judge ruled that
1892-530: Was mentioned (and appears) in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers during the chase scene leading to the Richard J. Daley Center. It can also be seen briefly in the 1993 film The Fugitive , as Harrison Ford , playing Richard Kimble , and his pursuers run across the plaza, and in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off as people in and under a reviewing stand dance to a song sung by Matthew Broderick , who plays Bueller. The sculpture also makes an appearance in
1936-533: Was to Picasso, who was struck by her high ponytail and long neck. "He made many portraits of her. At the time, most people thought he was drawing the actress Brigitte Bardot . But in fact, he was inspired by [Corbett]", Picasso's grandson Olivier Widmaier Picasso told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004. "I think the Chicago Sculpture was inspired by her", said the grandson, author of Picasso,
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