Outdoor Context: Six of the Same Pomodoro Sculpture
On the University of Chicago campus last month, I stumbled across Arnaldo Pomodoro’s Grande Disco. It is a looming, industrial and futuristic disk that seems to be splitting open along several seams. When examining the details up-close, you half expect the thing to open further and start talking. (That’s how a science fiction movie involving modern outdoor art would begin.)
Grande Disco (1968) by Arnaldo Pomodoro, University of Chicago
I was drawn to the sculpture for its design but also because I recognized it. I thought I saw this in Milan, what was it doing next to a Medical School building on the University of Chicago campus? Turns out there are five other “Grande Discos” throughout the world each made within the same general time frame and varying slightly in design. Located in urban, commercial and green spaces, the pieces are enhanced by the environments they have been placed into. See what you think of these outdoor installations. Personally, I think the Grande Disco does the best in the two extreme environments: the rolling green sculpture park and in the shadow of North Carolina skyscrapers.
Daydream Tourist 