Spoonbridge and Cherry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spoonbridge and Cherry |
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Spoonbridge and Cherry in 2008
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| Artist | Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen |
| Year | 1988 |
| Medium | Stainless steel and aluminum sculpture |
| Dimensions | 9 m × 4.1 m × 15.7 m (30 ft × 13 ft × 52 ft) |
| Location | Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
Spoonbridge and Cherry is a famous sculpture and fountain. It was created by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. You can find it in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in Minnesota, USA. This artwork was finished and put in place in 1988. It looks like a giant spoon with a bright red cherry on its tip, sitting over a small pond.
Contents
History of the Sculpture
In the mid-1980s, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, asked artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to create a new artwork. They were a married couple who often worked together on art projects.
The idea was to place the new sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. This garden was a new outdoor space across from the Walker Art Center. A generous art collector named Frederick R. Weisman donated $500,000 to pay for the artwork.
Early Ideas and Inspiration
At first, the artists thought about making a Viking ship with a dragon head. This ship would have been in a round pool. But they quickly decided not to use that idea.
The idea for the spoon had been in Oldenburg's mind for many years. He had a small souvenir from 1962 that showed a spoon on top of chocolate. Coosje van Bruggen added the idea of the cherry. She was inspired by the formal design of the sculpture garden. She also thought about the fancy dining rules of King Louis XIV of France.
The artists saw many things in the spoon's shape. It reminded them of a Viking ship's front, a duck rising from water, plants, animals, and even ice skating. The director of the Walker Art Center, Martin Friedman, said the artists did not mean for the sculpture to be a symbol of Minneapolis. But he believed it would become a landmark and bring joy to many people.
Building and Installation
The sculpture was built between 1987 and 1988. It was made at two different shipyards (places where ships are built) in Maine and Rhode Island. The final touches were done in Connecticut.
On May 9, 1988, two large cranes carefully placed Spoonbridge and Cherry in the northern part of the Sculpture Garden. The garden officially opened with ceremonies from September 9 to 11 that year. A special dedication happened on September 10, with a band playing music using spoons!
Upkeep and Repairs
In 1995, the entire Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture was repainted. In 2012, someone spray-painted words onto the spoon. Walker Art Center staff quickly cleaned and repaired the sculpture within two days.
Design of the Sculpture
Spoonbridge and Cherry is a very large sculpture. It is about 30 feet (9 m) tall, 52 feet (15.7 m) long, and 13 feet (4.1 m) wide. It sits over a small pond that is shaped like a linden tree seed. This shape matches the linden trees in the park around it.
The pond's edges are decorated with irises and reeds. The sculpture itself is made from strong stainless steel and aluminum. It is covered with a special polyurethane enamel coating.
The cherry part of the sculpture weighs about 1,199 pounds (544 kg). The spoon part is much heavier, weighing around 5,800 pounds (2,630 kg).
The sculpture also works as a fountain. Filtered water sprays out from both the tip of the cherry's stem and from the base of the stem. The water from the base helps keep the cherry shiny and bright in the sunlight.
