Lee Bey: The Eye opens on State Street

I took this picture earlier this month. This eyeball was at Pritzker Park on Van Buren & State. Thanks to Lee Bey, we know more about this object:

The three-story steel reinforced fiberglass eye sculpture–called, appropriately enough, “Eye”–debuted this week at downtown’s Pritzker Park.


The work is by Oak Park artist Tony Tasset and is actually modeled after one of his own eyeball. Produced by the Chicago Loop Alliance, the giant unblinking blue eye, veins and all,  will be joined by Tasset’s companion piece, “Cardinal”,which is 156 street banners along State Street featuring the state bird. The banners are designed to flutter like a flipbook, giving the illusion of the Cardinal flying down State Street from Congress to Wacker.

I like the “Eye.” It’s a commentary on our Age, if you ask me. Security cameras, cellphone cams, red light cameras, youtube videos—we are all watched as we watch. Life is increasingly like that brilliant “everybody’s gotta watch everybody else” scene in “Casino”. That and I was fascinated by the detail Tasset was enable to incorporate. The longer you look at it, the more details you can find.

Well Bey came to a much deeper meaning about this piece than I did. My thoughts on this is that it was something different and didn't think much about it with regards to symbolism. You know, this thing has become an instant hit since Bey wasn't the only one who has been taking photos of it.