Where Is Flamingo? See It at This Museum

Q: Where is Calder's Flamingo?

The sculpture stands in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago, surrounded by Mies van der Rohe's modernist buildings. It's freely accessible to the public 24 hours a day.

Q: How big is Flamingo?

The stabile stands 16 meters tall (53 feet) and weighs 50 tons. Calder designed it so visitors can walk underneath and through its arching forms.

Q: Why is Flamingo red?

Calder often painted his outdoor sculptures vermillion red (he called it "Calder red"). The bright color creates dramatic contrast with the black steel buildings of Federal Plaza and ensures visibility from blocks away.

Q: What is a stabile?

Calder coined the term "stabile" for his stationary abstract sculptures, in contrast to his famous mobiles which move. Flamingo is one of his largest stabiles, made from curved steel plates bolted together.

Alexander Calder created this Flamingo in 1974, a 53-foot painted steel sculpture standing in Chicago's Federal Plaza. The vibrant vermillion red stabile contrasts dramatically with the dark steel and glass of Mies van der Rohe's surrounding buildings. It has become one of Chicago's most beloved public artworks.

Calder invented the stabile (his term for stationary abstract sculptures) and the mobile (suspended moving sculptures). Flamingo represents his monumental stabile work, using curved steel plates bolted together to create an organic form. Despite its name, the sculpture doesn't literally depict a flamingo but suggests the bird's grace and curves.

The sculpture was dedicated in 1974 with a circus parade through downtown Chicago, honoring Calder's lifelong love of the circus. Mayor Richard J. Daley declared it "Calder Day" in Chicago. The work can be walked under and through, inviting interaction rather than mere observation.

The sculpture stands in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago, surrounded by Mies van der Rohe's modernist buildings. It's freely accessible to the public 24 hours a day.

The stabile stands 16 meters tall (53 feet) and weighs 50 tons. Calder designed it so visitors can walk underneath and through its arching forms.

Calder often painted his outdoor sculptures vermillion red (he called it "Calder red"). The bright color creates dramatic contrast with the black steel buildings of Federal Plaza and ensures visibility from blocks away.

Calder coined the term "stabile" for his stationary abstract sculptures, in contrast to his famous mobiles which move. Flamingo is one of his largest stabiles, made from curved steel plates bolted together.

Flamingo

Details

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