Invite: Write Poetry on Calder's Flamingo

Alexander Calder’s abstract stabile anchors the large rectangular plaza bordered by three Bauhaus style federal buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe. The sculpture’s vivid color and curvilinear form contrast dramatically with the angular steel and glass surroundings. However,Flamingo is constructed from similar materials and shares certain design principles with the architecture, thereby achieving successful integration within the plaza. Despite its monumental proportions, the open design allows the viewer to walk under and through the sculpture, leading one to perceive it in relation to human scale.

Reference: Calder's Flamingo.

It was a crisp, clear night last week, Thursday, March 6th, as I walked westward on Adams Street, en route from an alumni event at Northwestern University - Feinberg School of Medicine, to Union Station.  Calder's Flamingo sits at the southwest corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in Chicago, and it is, for many of us who live here, an iconic symbol of the city.

I had my trusty Samsung Galaxy Note II in hand, and I snapped shots of the fiery, steely bird.  I like uploading shots on this blog, as I now have, and writing a bit about the shots.  But I thought I'd also write poetry for each of these Flamingo shots.  Moreover, I thought I'd invite friends to write poetry as well on any or all of these shots.  I'd post our collective work in one or more of my blogs.

Let's see how it goes.