In Crown Fountain, how is the Selection of artist of the Concept and design elucidated?
In December 1999, Lester Crown and his family agreed to sponsor a water feature in Millennium Park.  Unlike other park feature sponsors, the Crowns acted independently of Millennium Park officials; they conducted independent surveys of water technologies, held their own informal design contest, and stayed active in the design and engineering of the project.The Crowns were open-minded about the choice of artist; wanting a modern work, they solicited proposals from a list of prospective artists and architects. Jaume Plensa researched the traditions and history of fountains and studied anthropomorphism in fountain imagery.  Some of his early ideas for the project referenced Buckingham Fountain, but these were soon abandoned. His presentation to the Crown family started with a slide show of fountains from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.  Plensa focused on the philosophical meanings associated with fountains, their history, use and art.  His presentation included computer animation of facial expressions. The other finalists were Maya Lin, who presented a low-height horizontal form, and Robert Venturi, who presented a fountain that would have been 150 feet (46 m) tall. In January 2000, Plensa won the commission to design the fountain over Lin and Venturi.  The installation is a video sculpture, commissioned to operate thirty years.
animation Jaume Plensa Buckingham Fountain Middle Ages video sculpture anthropomorphism Millennium Park Robert Venturi m computer animation Maya Lin Lester Crown 50 water feature