Visitors to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile have a choice – to peek or not to peek. A 26 foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in that pose was unveiled yesterday. No guessing what a large number chose to do!
If you have been living on another planet you may need to know that this is the stance the Hollywood legend adopted in Billy Wilder’s 1955 movie
The Seven Year Itch. It seems that passers-by did not hold on ceremony – many headed directly underneath for what must have been an eye-watering view.
The sculpture is called
Forever Marilyn and is the latest gigantic public art display by Seward Johnson. It will stay in place until next Spring when it was start a US tour.
Before the sculpture was unveiled Marilyn’s head was draped in what looked like a giant red white and blue flag. One could have thought that if her modesty was to be protected that is was a little misplaced.
When unveiled, Marilyn Forever is quite something.
OK, here is the shot that you have (
possibly) been waiting for. Seward’s unerring eye means that there is attention to detail in every respect. However, anyone expecting naughty underwear may be disappointed. As in the movie,
Forever Marilyn is wearing a pair of perfectly proper white lace panties.
One photographer, Flickr User Buzz Killington, has taken advantage of the situation and has been doing a little people watching. and has put in place a reaction meter. The reaction meter shows if people decided to react to the coy and mischievous portion of the 26' sculpture or if they decided to react to the cruder side in each scene. The results speak for themselves!
Strange how most of the people with cameras seem to be men...
