Cloud Gate is a monumental stainless steelsculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor, installed in AT&T Plaza within Chicago's Millennium Park.[1] Composed of 2-millimeter-thick plates forming a seamless, mirror-polished surface inspired by liquid mercury, the work measures 66 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 33 feet high, weighing 110 tons.[2][3] Fabricated between 2004 and 2005 after initial commissioning in 1999, it was unveiled to the public on May 15, 2006, following construction delays and budget overruns that escalated costs from an estimated $6 million to over $23 million.[4] Commonly nicknamed "The Bean" for its torqued, lens-like form, Cloud Gate reflects the Chicago skyline, surrounding architecture, and visitors, creating immersive optical effects that have made it one of the city's most visited and photographed attractions, drawing millions annually.[5] Despite its acclaim, the sculpture has faced minor controversies, including incidents of vandalism and debates over restricted access for private events in the public park.[6]
Commission and Development
Site Selection and Funding
The development of Millennium Park, encompassing an expansion of Chicago's Grant Park, began planning in the late 1990s, with the northwest corner selected for new public amenities including a central plaza. Cloud Gate was commissioned in 1999 to serve as the focal sculpture for this AT&T Plaza (subsequently renamed Grainger Plaza), intended to enhance the area's role as a gateway to the city's cultural district while integrating with surrounding architecture and rail infrastructure.[2][7][1]The sculpture's total cost reached $23 million, surpassing initial budget projections, yet was fully covered through private contributions coordinated by the Millennium Park Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. This approach exemplified a public-private model where voluntary donations from corporations and foundations supplanted direct public expenditure on the artwork itself, with the overall park drawing approximately $220 million in private funds against $270 million from city sources.[8][9][10]Key supporters included the Grainger Foundation, whose substantial gift led to the plaza's renaming and underscored the efficacy of targeted philanthropy in funding urban public art without relying on general taxpayer revenues. The Foundation's efforts in soliciting these donations facilitated the project's completion amid broader Millennium Park initiatives, prioritizing donor-driven enhancements over expanded government spending.[11][12]
Artist Selection Process
In 1997, as part of the Millennium Park development, a selection committee comprising representatives from institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art, along with private patrons, began evaluating artists for major public sculptures, focusing on those with demonstrated experience in large-scale outdoor works.[13] An international competition ensued, drawing proposals from over 20 artists, which were progressively narrowed to a shortlist of 12 and ultimately two finalists by late 1998 or early 1999: British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor and American artist Jeff Koons.[2][14] Koons's submission, a 150-foot-tall intertwined steel-and-glass structure featuring animal heads with an integrated slide and elevator, was rejected due to concerns over its overwhelming scale, structural impracticality, and potential to dominate the site rather than harmonize with it.[15][13]Kapoor's proposal for Cloud Gate, a seamless, mirrored stainless-steel form resembling liquid mercury, was selected in 1999 for its capacity to reflect and integrate the Chicago skyline, surrounding architecture, and passersby, creating an interactive optical experience grounded in the site's urban context.[2][16] This marked Kapoor's first major public outdoor commission in the United States, chosen based on his prior explorations of reflective, concave forms in works like Void series pieces and large-scale installations, which demonstrated feasibility for public-scale fabrication despite the proposal's ambitious curvature and seamlessness.[13] Initial evaluations emphasized engineering viability, with the design's reflective properties assessed for durability and visual impact over purely aesthetic abstraction; prototypes were later developed to confirm constructability, addressing early skepticism about welding and polishing the 110-ton structure without visible seams.[15] The selection prioritized empirical alignment with the plaza's high-traffic role, budgeting initially at $6 million, though costs escalated due to technical refinements.[13]
Design and Technical Specifications
Conceptual Inspiration
Anish Kapoor conceived Cloud Gate as a monumental embodiment of liquid mercury's fluid, seamless reflectivity, drawing from its alchemical connotations of transformation and boundlessness to create a sculpture that dissolves boundaries between object, observer, and environment.[1][17] This form abstracted into a toroid lens, 66 feet long and 33 feet high, to capture and warp panoramic views of Chicago's skyline, passersby, and overhead clouds, evoking a perceptual gateway where individual identity merges with urban and atmospheric expanse.[3]The design evolved from Kapoor's 1990s explorations of voids—concave, pigment-filled absences—and polished stainless steel reflections, as in his 1995 series inverting spatial perception through optical ambiguity, adapting these into Cloud Gate's convex-concave geometry for immersive distortions that eliminate horizons and ground viewers in infinite reflexivity.[18][19] Sketches and digital 3D modeling, informed by prior concave mirror works like Sky Mirror (2001), enabled iterative refinement of the curve's radius to achieve precise anamorphic effects, confirmed via experimental prototypes that visualized reflective interactions without physical fabrication risks.[20]Public dubbing of the sculpture "The Bean" for its reniform silhouette prompted Kapoor's early 2006 dismissal of the term as "completely stupid," prioritizing formal nomenclature to preserve conceptual depth; however, by 2017, he pragmatically endorsed it, affirming colloquial monikers' utility in cultivating widespread engagement over rigid artistic taxonomy.[21][22][23]
Materials and Engineering
Cloud Gate is fabricated from 168 plates of 316L stainless steel, each approximately 10 millimeters thick, selected for its corrosionresistance and ability to achieve a highly reflective finish suitable for long-term outdoor exposure.[24][25] The plates were precision-cut, rolled, and milled using computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques to ensure exact curvature and fit, enabling subsequent welding into a continuous outer shell without visible seams.[3][26]The overall structure measures 33 feet (10 meters) in height, 66 feet (20 meters) in length, and 42 feet (13 meters) in width, with a total weight of 110 short tons (100 metric tons), supported by an internal steel framework that distributes loads across the curved form.[1][27] This framework, integrated during fabrication, incorporates hidden supports to maintain rigidity and prevent deformation under gravitational and environmental stresses, reflecting engineering collaboration between artist Anish Kapoor and structural specialists to balance aesthetic seamlessness with mechanical stability.[3][28]The surface undergoes extensive polishing—requiring thousands of hours—to attain a near-mirror finish, which reflects and distorts surrounding architecture and sky through principles of specular reflection and geometric optics inherent to the convex, fluid geometry.[28] This innovation in stainless steel application demonstrates empirical durability, as the material's inherent resistance to pitting and atmospheric corrosion supports the sculpture's projected longevity in Chicago's variable climate without compromising the optical interactivity central to its design.[29][1]
Construction and Installation
Fabrication and Assembly Challenges
The fabrication of Cloud Gate involved forming 168 stainless steel plates, primarily 316L grade with thicknesses ranging from 1/4 to 3/8 inch, at Performance Structures International in Oakland, California, where plasma cutting and custom 3D roller forming achieved curvatures within 0.01-inch tolerances.[28][30] These plates, some measuring up to 7 feet wide by 11 feet long and weighing 1,500 pounds each, underwent initial precision trimming and polishing to prepare for assembly.[28]Significant challenges emerged during plate forming and welding due to the sculpture's complex, seamless curvature and massive scale, requiring unprecedented custom tooling and iterative testing to counteract distortions from weld shrinkage.[28] Initial preload calculations proved inaccurate, leading to onsite adjustments via trial-and-error methods, while plasma keyhole welding demanded precise gas mixtures (98% argon, 2% helium) for full penetration without exterior defects.[28] Plates were trial-fitted in California before trucking to Chicago, where assembly around an internal truss framework proceeded under variable field conditions, including delivery delays that extended the process.[30][28]Onsite welding affixed plates to suspension rings and tethers designed for thermal expansion, but achieving the mirror-like finish necessitated a rigorous 12-step polishing sequence—from 60-grit grinding to 800-grit rouge—proving the most labor-intensive phase amid two years of assembly work from approximately 2004 onward.[28][30] These hurdles, compounded by the need for adaptive engineering solutions, pushed full completion to May 2006, well beyond initial timelines, and inflated costs from an estimated $6 million to $23 million.[28][31]
Unveiling and Initial Public Access
Cloud Gate was first unveiled to the public in incomplete form on July 15, 2004, coinciding with the grand opening of Millennium Park, though its surface retained visible welding seams and required further polishing for its intended seamless, reflective finish.[32] Following this partial display, the sculpture was enclosed under a protective tent, restricting access while crews ground and polished its stainless-steel plates over the subsequent two years to eliminate seams and achieve uniform mirroring.[33] This process addressed engineering demands for optical continuity, prioritizing structural and aesthetic integrity over immediate full accessibility.[13]The sculpture received its official dedication on May 15, 2006, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring artist Anish Kapoor and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who designated the occasion "Cloud Gate Day" and highlighted its completion as a capstone to Millennium Park's development.[34][35] Post-dedication, Cloud Gate opened fully to public interaction without prior restrictions, allowing visitors direct contact with its curved, climbable surface amid the plaza's activation.[36] Early visitor behavior included physical engagements such as touching and posing on the sculpture, necessitating subsequent logistical adjustments like temporary fencing to manage crowds and prevent damage during peak usage.[37]
Maintenance and Preservation
Routine Maintenance Costs and Methods
Routine maintenance of Cloud Gate involves daily cleaning to preserve the mirror-like finish of its 2D stainless steel cladding, which accumulates fingerprints, rain, dew, and other residues that could diminish reflectivity and accelerate atmospheric corrosion. Crews perform these tasks for approximately two hours each morning using deionized water, microfiber cloths, and squeegees on the accessible lower portions, with mopping occurring two to three times daily during warmer months.[29][38] Twice-yearly deep cleanings employ low-pressure water sprays, 150 liters of detergent, and overnight scaffolding to address upper surfaces and bird droppings without risking damage to the seamless polish.[29]These efforts, along with periodic waxing using products like Midas Touch to enhance protection against environmental exposure, contribute to annual upkeep costs of around $70,000, primarily addressing surface contaminants near Lake Michigan where humidity and pollutants heighten corrosion risks.[29][38] While funded through private endowments rather than direct taxpayer allocations, the expenses underscore the trade-offs of maintaining a high-profile public artwork that demands specialized labor and materials to sustain its aesthetic and structural integrity.[38]Vandalism incidents, such as the 2009 scratches etched into the surface, necessitate targeted repairs involving a multi-step grinding and polishing process—starting with coarse 60-grit abrasives and progressing to fine 400-grit pads—to restore the uniform mirror finish, with individual fixes exceeding $7,000 due to the precision required for the sculpture's 10,000 precisely aligned plates.[29][39] Internal inspections and cleaning, accessed via hatches in the understructure, monitor the galvanized steel framework for potential degradation amid Chicago's thermal expansions and contractions.[40]Ongoing corrosion monitoring focuses on pitting from airborne chlorides and visitor-contact grease, though no significant damage has materialized to date, thanks to proactive polishing that mitigates oxide layer formation.[29] These substantial maintenance demands, while elevating public access costs for a taxpayer-supported park, are offset by Cloud Gate's draw within Millennium Park, which generates over $1.4 billion in direct visitor spending and $78 million in tax revenue annually, amplifying Chicago's tourism economy far beyond upkeep outlays.[41][42]
2023-2024 Plaza Renovations
Grainger Plaza, the area encircling Cloud Gate in Millennium Park, closed to public access on August 15, 2023, to facilitate a comprehensive rebuild addressing structural wear from heavy foot traffic.[43][44] The project focused on reconstructing the plaza podium, replacing deteriorated pavers, and installing a new waterproofing system to enhance durability and prevent water infiltration issues that had emerged over time.[45][46]Upgrades included the addition of new stairs and accessible ramps to improve pedestrian flow and safety, with specific emphasis on achieving greater compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, responding to prior observations of uneven surfaces and limited mobility access around the sculpture.[47][48] These enhancements did not involve modifications to Cloud Gate itself, preserving the original stainless-steel structure while fortifying the surrounding infrastructure against ongoing environmental and usage stresses.[49][45]The plaza reopened on June 23, 2024, after approximately 10 months of work, restoring unobstructed views and access to the sculpture for visitors.[49][50] The renovations demonstrably improved circulation and reduced slip hazards through smoother, more resilient surfaces, as evidenced by the integration of high-durability materials tested for high-traffic urban parks.[51][46]
Reception and Critical Analysis
Positive Public and Tourist Reception
![A large, highly-polished, mirrored bean-shaped sculpture seen from the east, reflecting the skyscrapers to the north along East Randolph Street The Heritage, Smurfit-Stone Building, Two Prudential Plaza, One Prudential Plaza, and Aon Center.](./_assets_/Cloud_Gate_\(The_BeanCloud Gate, commonly referred to as "The Bean" in a nickname that emerged organically among the public following its 2006 unveiling, has achieved enduring appeal as a prime interactive public artwork. Its seamless, mirror-polished stainless steel surface captures and distorts reflections of the surrounding urban skyline, park greenery, and onlookers, inviting tactile exploration and personal immersion that distinguishes it from static monuments.[5]As the focal point of Millennium Park, Cloud Gate draws substantial tourist foot traffic, with the park recording approximately 25 million annual visitors, many citing the sculpture as a primary motivation for their visit. This sustained attendance underscores its role in elevating Chicago's profile among global landmarks, comparable to sites featured prominently in travel itineraries. High visitor satisfaction is reflected in aggregated reviews, including a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Tripadvisor from over 18,000 submissions praising its visual and experiential draw.[52][53]The sculpture's photogenic properties have fueled social media virality, with users generating and sharing images that blend self-portraits with panoramic city views, amplifying its reach beyond physical visitors. This digital amplification contributes to economic benefits, as evidenced by Millennium Park's broader tourism impacts, including enhanced visitor spending and real estate value increases totaling around $1.4 billion in the vicinity. Private sector validation of the installation's draw persists through consistent crowds post-reopening from maintenance in June 2024.[54][55][56]
Criticisms of Artistic Merit and Expense
Critics have questioned the artistic merit of Cloud Gate, describing it as a "brilliant bauble" that prioritizes superficial visual spectacle over substantive depth or site-specific engagement, particularly in a city facing fiscal strains.[57] The sculpture's reflective distortions, while striking, rely on conventional principles of curved mirroring to create illusions of fluidity and inversion, rather than introducing novel optical or structural innovations that might justify its conceptual claims as a transformative "gateway" between viewer, city, and sky.[58][59]The project's expense has drawn particular scrutiny, with initial estimates of $6 million ballooning to $23 million by completion in 2006, funded entirely through private donations amid broader Millennium Park overruns.[13][41] Detractors argue this outlay exemplifies misplaced priorities, favoring gimmicky reflectivity over pressing urban infrastructure needs in a financially challenged Chicago, where public resources could address more tangible civic demands.[57]Comparisons to earlier public art like Richard Serra's Tilted Arc—removed in 1989 after backlash over its obstructive form and modest $175,000 cost—underscore accusations of elitism in Cloud Gate's execution.[57] Whereas Tilted Arc provoked debate through its raw industrial confrontation, Cloud Gate is seen by some as corporate vanity, embodying a post-industrial aesthetic that celebrates hollow liberalism and the privatization of public space under the guise of accessible innovation, without the confrontational rigor of prior works.[57] This perspective holds that its seamless, crowd-pleasing polish masks a lack of genuine artistic risk, prioritizing virtualspectacle over physical or contextual disruption.[57]
Artistic Themes and Kapoor's Work
Core Themes in Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate's reflective surface, composed of 168 seamlessly welded stainless steel plates polished to a mirror finish, facilitates a dissolution of perceptual boundaries by continuously merging the viewer's image with surrounding architecture, pedestrians, and the sky. This effect arises from the principles of geometric optics, where the sculpture's convex curvature refracts light rays to integrate disparate visual elements into a unified, fluid panorama without visible seams or interruptions.[60] The resulting optical blending challenges standard object-subject distinctions, as the highly reflective material—achieving near-perfect specular reflection—eliminates discrete edges between reflected entities, producing a perceptual continuity that extends the viewer's spatial awareness beyond physical limits.[61]The sculpture's omphalos, a 12-foot-high concave arch on the underside, evokes ancient gateway forms through its rounded, navel-like geometry but derives its visual potency from material-driven optical properties. This inward curve functions as a concave mirror, generating warped and multiplied reflections that simulate an infinite regress of archways when viewed from below, as light rays converge and diverge to create layered virtual images receding into depth.[62] Unlike flat mirrors, the curvature alters focal lengths variably across the surface, enabling recursive self-reflections that extend perceptually without termination, tied directly to the stainless steel's 2-millimeter thickness and uniform polish, which minimize scattering and preserve image clarity.[25]Viewer interactions with these features induce measurable spatial disorientation, as documented in perceptual studies on curved mirrors, where distortions contract perceived depth and size, compressing distances and accelerating apparent motion of reflected objects like clouds.[63] Empirical observations confirm heightened instability in spatial orientation under the omphalos, with the multiplied reflections exacerbating vestibular-visual mismatches akin to those in funhouse optics, validating the sculpture's interactive capacity to disrupt equilibrium through form and reflectivity alone.[64] Such effects persist across viewing angles, with the 110-ton mass grounding the immaterial distortions in tangible scale, amplifying the interplay between optical illusion and physical presence.[60]
Connections to Kapoor's Broader Themes and Controversies
Cloud Gate exemplifies Anish Kapoor's longstanding exploration of reflection and perceptual distortion, motifs traceable to his earlier stainless steel sculptures such as Turning the World Inside Out (1995), a polished orb that inverts and fragments the viewer's surroundings through concave mirroring.[65] This reflective technique builds on Kapoor's 1990s installations, including Void Field (1989), where voids carved into sandstone blocks evoke infinite emptiness, and pigment-based works that play with material opacity and spatial illusion, extending into Cloud Gate's seamless, horizon-like curvature that dissolves boundaries between object and environment.[19][66]Kapoor's insistence on Cloud Gate's flawless seamlessness during fabrication mirrors his broader proprietary approach to artistic control, as seen in his 2016 acquisition of exclusive rights to Vantablack, a carbon nanotube array absorbing 99.96% of light, which sparked backlash for restricting access to other artists.[67] In response, artist Stuart Semple developed "Pinkest Pink" and banned Kapoor from purchasing it, highlighting tensions over material exclusivity that echo Kapoor's demands for uncompromised execution in high-profile commissions like Cloud Gate.[68]This protective stance extends to intellectual property, exemplified by Kapoor's 2015 accusations of "blatant plagiarism" against a stainless steel sculpture in Karamay, China, resembling Cloud Gate's form, which he viewed as undermining the originality of his spectacle-driven works amid lucrative public installations.[69] Such episodes underscore critiques of Kapoor's market-oriented practice, where monumental pieces prioritize visual impact and exclusivity, prompting defenses of his IP vigilance despite perceptions of egocentrism in an art world favoring commodified uniqueness.[70]
Controversies
Intellectual Property Lawsuits
In June 2018, Anish Kapoor filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after the organization used an unauthorized black-and-white image of Cloud Gate in a 2017 political video advertisement titled "The Violence of Lies."[71][72] The video, which Kapoor described as promoting fear and opposing gun control measures, featured the sculpture for a brief duration without permission, prompting Kapoor to seek $150,000 in statutory damages, profits from any new memberships gained, and an injunction to halt its distribution.[73][74]The case settled out of court in December 2018, with the NRA agreeing to remove the image from the video and cease its unauthorized use, which Kapoor publicly hailed as a "victory" against the group's messaging.[75][76] Legal analyses questioned whether the NRA's fleeting, transformative depiction qualified as fair use under U.S. copyright law, given the sculpture's public accessibility in Millennium Park—a site funded partly by taxpayers—yet Kapoor's retention of copyright rights underscored the artist's ability to control commercial reproductions of publicly installed works.[77][78]In August 2015, Kapoor accused Chinese authorities in Karamay, Xinjiang, of "blatant plagiarism" after unveiling a stainless-steel sculpture strikingly similar to Cloud Gate, marketed locally as a representation of an oil drop to symbolize the region's petroleum industry.[69][79]Kapoor threatened legal action to enforce his intellectual property rights internationally, highlighting challenges in protecting original designs against unauthorized copies in jurisdictions with weaker enforcement of foreign copyrights.[80] No formal lawsuit materialized from this incident, but it exemplified broader tensions over derivative works of high-profile public art, where physical replication raises distinct issues from photographic or digital uses.[70]These disputes illustrate Kapoor's aggressive stance on safeguarding Cloud Gate's imagery and form, even as the sculpture's $23 million commission drew significant public investment, fueling discussions on the balance between artistic monopoly and public domain access for taxpayer-supported installations.[81] While U.S. law grants artists like Kapoor moral and economic rights over reproductions, critics argue such claims can overextend control over incidental or transformative depictions of enduring public landmarks.[82]
Public Protests and Vandalism Incidents
In July 2019, seven individuals were arrested after spray-painting white graffiti on Cloud Gate's surface during an overnight incident in Millennium Park, prompting swift cleanup efforts by city crews and widespread media coverage highlighting public outrage over the damage to the $23 million sculpture.[83][84] The act, attributed to thrill-seeking or disregard for public art, underscored ongoing challenges with vandalism on highly accessible installations, leading to reinforced security measures including temporary barriers around the sculpture's base to deter similar defacements.[85]A similar vandalism occurred on February 25, 2022, when 18-year-old Diego Corona was charged with spray-painting graffiti on Cloud Gate around 6:10 p.m., fleeing the scene before apprehension; the incident required specialized polishing to restore the stainless steel cladding, reflecting persistent issues with opportunistic damage amid the sculpture's popularity as a tourist draw.[86][87] Such events have been linked by observers to anti-establishment sentiments or adolescent rebellion against symbols of civic investment, though no organized ideological motive was established in either case, with repairs costing thousands due to the need for non-abrasive techniques to preserve the mirrored finish.[88]In July 2025, the "Man in Bean Coalition" launched a satirical protest campaign alleging that Anish Kapoor had trapped a person (initially described as a baby in 2004, now purportedly an adult) inside Cloud Gate, using social media videos, in-person gatherings in black attire with protest signs, and demands for "release" to mock the artist's strict intellectual property controls and the sculpture's periodic inaccessibility during maintenance.[89][90] The viral hoax, which amassed over 23,000 Instagram followers and flooded a local alderman's office with calls, persisted through rain-soaked rallies on August 18, 2025, framing the enclosure as symbolic entrapment amid renovations that limit public access and Kapoor's proprietary oversight of the work's interior and replication rights.[91][92] Officials and Kapoor's representatives dismissed the claims as baseless performance art, yet the stunt echoed broader public frustrations with perceived elitism in contemporary art gatekeeping, indirectly referencing Kapoor's history of exclusive material claims like Vantablack without evidence of physical harm to the sculpture.[93][94]
Cultural Impact
Economic and Touristic Contributions
Cloud Gate serves as the primary attraction within Millennium Park, drawing an estimated 20 million visitors annually to the site and contributing to Chicago's broader tourism economy of over 55 million visitors in 2024.[95][96] A 2011 economic impact study of the park attributed $1.4 billion in direct visitor spending and $78 million in tax revenue to tourism generated by its features, including Cloud Gate, with out-of-town visitors accounting for the majority of this activity.[42] This spending supports local hotels, restaurants, and retail, yielding a multiplier effect that exceeds initial public investments in the park's infrastructure.The sculpture's construction was fully underwritten by private donations through the Millennium Park Foundation, part of the broader park's funding model where private contributions covered $220 million of the total $475 million cost, thereby limiting fiscal burdens on taxpayers while catalyzing revenue through heightened urban appeal.[97][98] This approach has enhanced property values in Chicago's Loop district by nearly $1.4 billion on a year-to-year basis, as increased foot traffic and prestige elevate commercial real estate demand adjacent to the park.[99]Following a 10-month renovation of Grainger Plaza completed in June 2024—which included rebuilt podiums, new accessible ramps, and waterproofing—Cloud Gate's improved surroundings have sustained its role as a top visitor magnet, validating the return on prior investments through continued high attendance and associated economic inflows without evidence of diminished draw.[45][100] Park metrics position it as the leading draw, with correlations to upticks in nearby hotel bookings and business revenues derived from visitor patterns.[55]
Representations in Media and Popular Culture
Cloud Gate has frequently appeared as a visual motif in films and television productions set in Chicago, leveraging its distinctive reflective form to symbolize the city's modern skyline. For example, it serves as a backdrop in the 2005 film The Weather Man, where characters interact near the sculpture in Millennium Park.[101] It has also featured in various television shows, capitalizing on its status as a recognizable landmark since its 2006 installation.[102]The sculpture gained unintended prominence in advertising through its inclusion in a June 2018 National Rifle Association promotional video, which incorporated time-lapse footage of Cloud Gate without permission, prompting artist Anish Kapoor to file a copyright infringement lawsuit.[74][73] The NRA settled the suit in December 2018 by agreeing to remove the imagery, illustrating early instances of the work's appropriation beyond Kapoor's artistic control.[103][104]On social media platforms like Instagram, Cloud Gate evolved from a 2006 novelty attracting tourist selfies—drawn to its seamless, mirror-like surface that distorts viewers and reflects the surrounding architecture—into a 2020s meme icon centered on humorous visual manipulations.[105] By 2025, viral trends such as the "Man in the Bean" hoax, a satirical online campaign falsely claiming a person had been trapped inside the hollow structure since its construction, amplified its meme status, spreading via Instagram accounts and Reddit discussions that parodied Kapoor's intellectual property assertions.[106][107][108] This public-driven humor democratized engagement with the sculpture, transforming an elite-commissioned public artwork into accessible, shareable content that often bypassed the artist's preferred narrative of sublime reflection.Global parodies and unauthorized replicas further underscore Cloud Gate's organic cultural dissemination, as seen in a 2015 unveiling of a similar reflective, bean-shaped stainless steel sculpture in Huizhou, China, which Kapoor publicly denounced as "blatant plagiarism" for mimicking its form and material.[69][109] Despite Kapoor's legal efforts to restrict reproductions, such instances proliferated, enabling widespread imitation that aligned more with populist reinterpretation than the original's intended exclusivity.[110][111]