Border Patrol troopers pose for photos in front of Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate”
Glittering sculptures by British artist Anish Kapoor Cloud Gate (2006), located in Chicago’s Millennium Park, is one of the most popular works of public art in the world. The 110-ton piece, often called “The Bean” because of its oval shape, has served as the backdrop for countless photos taken by everyday visitors and celebrities alike.
Now, a more controversial tourist has used the piece for a Windy City photo shoot. Dozens of U.S. Border Patrol agents gathered at the 66-foot-long statue after dawn on Monday, led by Gregory Bovino, a 25-year veteran of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. regional news media chicago block club According to reports, just after 7 a.m., agents wearing green camouflage uniforms and holding large guns poured out of numerous SUVs.
The Border Patrol reportedly used tear gas during a weekend law enforcement raid after one of the agents reportedly asked his colleagues to replace “cheese” with “hamlet,” referring to a community home to many Mexican Americans. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday that the agency had arrested an undocumented Mexican immigrant in connection with a shooting that targeted a Border Patrol agent.
But the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild pointed the finger at the federal government, saying in a statement that “Trump’s federal agents turned an otherwise peaceful Saturday afternoon on Chicago’s Southwest Side into a dangerous and unsafe environment through repeated unnecessary escalations.” Local City Councilman Mike Rodriguez, who was at the scene over the weekend, said he never heard the shots allegedly fired at federal agents.
Chicago Governor JB Pritzker criticized the photo shoot and its evocation of “Little Village.” “Making fun of our community and community is disgusting,” he said on social media. “Greg Bovino and his masked agents are not here to make Chicago safer. While children are being tear-gassed and detained by American citizens, they are posing for photos and creating reality TV moments.”
Chicago artist Michael Rakowitz was equally outraged by the shooting.
“It provides a portal through which to talk about what every Chicagoan is enduring right now, which is the horrific invasion and occupation of our city by these paramilitary forces,” Rakowitz said. “I do think they are the Gestapo who are rooting out, targeting and terrorizing our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Federal agents have been extremely aggressive in immigration enforcement raids in Chicago, deploying helicopters during an overnight raid on an apartment complex, using chemical agents near public schools and handcuffing a city councilman at a hospital. public broadcaster More than 1,000 immigrants have reportedly been arrested since federal agents raided the city. The federal agency has also repeatedly used photos of its Chicago agents in social media posts.
Anish Kapoor.
Photo George Darrell
Kapoor, the 1991 Turner Prize winner, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, but he has asked other organizations to use images of his work.
In 2018, Kapoor declared “victory” in a copyright infringement lawsuit against the National Rifle Association because the association used Cloud Gate In an online ad, he called it “abhorrent.” The NRA agreed to remove the image. After the ad aired, the artist sought $150,000 in damages and a share of the NRA’s profits from new memberships. The lawsuit was settled out of court, but the NRA said it would not compensate the artist.
Born in Mumbai to an Iraqi Jewish mother and an Indian father, Kapoor has been an outspoken supporter of immigrants and refugees. In 2017, President Donald Trump unveiled a poster at Los Angeles’ Union Station featuring a self-portrait with the words “I like America, America doesn’t like me,” a riff on Joseph Beuys’ famous artwork. That year, he pledged to award $1 million in conjunction with the Genesis Prize to organizations assisting Syrian refugees. In 2015, he walked in London with immigrant artist Ai Weiwei to call attention to the refugee crisis.
Rakowitz did see unexpected benefits to the shoot because of the surface quality of Kapoor’s work.
“I’m outraged beyond words, but one thing I’m grateful for is the reflective quality of the sculpture, because in the photos that emerged, many of the agents were not wearing masks and you could see them from all different angles, so it made it easier to identify them,” he said. “Obviously, looking in the mirror doesn’t bother them. But when we need to know who these people are, they can’t hide from us.”
