When it comes to Houston’s city rivalries, Chicago might not be the first that comes to mind – we all know it’s Dallas. But as Houston continues to grow, its place as the fourth largest city in the United States is likely to one day take Chicago’s place of country’s third largest city: granting ample occasion to start making comparisons.
While there are many comparisons to be made, be it sports teams, weather, transportation, et al., we’d like to focus on a commonality between the two cities in that both are home to cloud-themed monuments – or “beans” as they’re affectionately known – by the British artist, Anish Kapoor.
But how do the two compare? Of course, Chicago’s debuted first. Unveiled in Millenium Park in the heart of Chicago back in 2004, Cloud Gate – or “The Bean” – is a bulbous monolith. Horizontally oriented, the sculpture features a contoured, mirrored exterior and a “spoon-like underbelly” the nature of which lends an interactive element to the selfie-taking public. The 100-ton Bean in Chicago stands 33-feet high – roughly the same as a two-story structure – stretching 66 feet long with a width of 42 feet.
Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Column in Houston is located at the Brown Foundation Plaza of the Museum of Fine Arts. Similarities between the two works are readily apparent. Cloud Column is composed of polished stainless steel, though with a sleek, elongated shape. Vertically situated at a height of 32 feet, the ethereal Houston work of art soars into the sky.
While Cloud Column wasn’t debuted until 2018, the art piece preceded The Bean in Chicago. Indeed, Kapoor created Cloud Column back in 1999. The making of which was an 8-year journey, that which involved an assembly entirely by hand.
Thus, The Bean in Chicago is clearly more of a tourist draw (in a city like Chicago anyway). Though it might have heftier dimensions, it’s still the lesser art piece to Houston’s Cloud Column: aesthetically superior and a true original.