<P> Prior to Crown Fountain, Plensa's dominant theme had been dualism, which he had expanded to artworks in which the viewers are outside, and the visible subjects of the art are inside containers and hollow spaces . In the 1990s, he completed several outdoor sculptures in which he explored the use of light (The Star of David (1998) at Stockholm's Raoul Wallenberg Square, Bridge of Light (1998) in Jerusalem), and LED technology, video, and computer design (Gläserne Seele & Mr. Net in Brandenburg (1999--2000)). In his public art, Plensa challenged himself to involve the viewer with his art, which led to his conception of the Crown Fountain . His objective was to create a socially relevant, interactive fountain for the 21st century . Since water is the focus of a fountain, and since Chicago, and especially Millennium Park, is so greatly affected by the nearby waterfront, Plensa sought to create an eternal water work to complement the local natural inspirations . Because of the colder winters common to the climate of Chicago, Plensa created a fountain that would remain vibrant when the water was inactive in the wintertime, so the fountain is an experience of light themes and the use of video technology . </P> <P> Plensa explores dualism with Crown Fountain, where he has two randomly selected faces "conversing" with each other . Plensa feels that by using faces, he can represent the diversity of the city both in ethnicity and in age . The artist intends to portray the sociocultural evolution of the city by updating the collection of images . His representation has become a part of the city's pop culture; the first few episodes of the first season of Prison Break featured shots of the fountain . </P> <P> Plensa feels that the challenge in the creation of successful work of public art is to integrate the viewer into an interactive relationship with the art . The fountain is known for encouraging its visitors to splash and slide in the reflecting pool, jostle for position under the water spout and place themselves under the cascade . This interactivity was to some degree accidental . Although the city planned for some interactivity, the transformation of the fountain into a water park for kids within hours of opening surprised Plensa . Now, when the National Weather Service issues summer heat advisories and the Governor of Illinois declares state office buildings as official daytime cooling centers, the national press points to Crown Fountain as a respite for inhabitants of the Chicago metropolitan area . </P> <P> Approximately 75 ethnic, social, and religious Chicago organizations were asked to provide candidates whose faces would be photographed for integration into the fountain . The subjects were chosen from local schools, churches and community groups, and filming began in 2001 at the downtown campus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The SAIC students filmed their subjects with a $100,000 high - definition HDW - F900 video camera, the same model used in the production of the three Star Wars prequels . About 20 SAIC students took part in what became an informal master's course in public art for the project . Faculty from Columbia College Chicago was also involved in the production of the video . The high - definition equipment was used because of the scale of the project . Because the image proportions were like a movie screen with a width far exceeding its height, the camera was turned on its side during filming . </P>

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