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= = = Critique of the Heart = = =
Busch did not write further illustrated tales for a while , and focused on the literary Kritik des Herzens ( Critique of the Heart ) , wanting to appear more serious to his readers . Contemporary reception for the collection of 81 poems was mainly poor ; it was criticized for its focus on marriage and sexuality . His long @-@ time friend Paul Lindau called it " very serious , heartfelt , charming poems " . Dutch writer Marie Anderson was one of few people who enjoyed his Kritik des Herzens , and even planned to publish it in a Dutch newspaper .
= = = Adventures of a Bachelor = = =
Notwithstanding the hiatus after moving from Frankfurt , the 1870s were one of Busch 's most productive decades . In 1874 he produced the short illustrated tale Diddle @-@ Boom ! ( Dideldum ! ) .
Following , in 1875 , was the Knopp Trilogy , about the life of Tobias Knopp : Adventures of a Bachelor ( Abenteuer eines Junggesellen ) , Mr. and Mrs. Knopp ( Herr und Frau Knopp ) ( 1876 ) , and " Julie " ( Julchen ) ( 1877 ) . The antagonists of the trilogy are not pairs of nuisances as with Max and Moritz or Jack Crook , Bird of Evil ( Hans Huckebein , der Unglücksrabe ) . Without pathos , Busch makes Knopp become aware of his mortality :
In the first part of the trilogy , Knopp is depressed and will look for a wife . He visits his old friends and their wives who he finds in unenviable relationships . Still not convinced that the life of a bachelor is one for him , he returns home , and without further ado proposes to his housekeeper . The following marriage proposal is , according to Busch biographer Joseph Kraus , one of the shortest in the history of German literature :
According to Wessling , Busch became skeptical of marriage after writing the story . To Marie Anderson he wrote : " I will never marry ( ... ) I am already in good hands with my sister " .
= = = Last works = = =
Among Busch 's last works were the stories Clement Dove , the Poet Thwarted ( Balduin Bählamm , der verhinderte Dichter ) ( 1883 ) and Painter Squirtle ( Maler Klecksel ) ( 1884 ) , both of which focus on artistic failure , and indirectly his own failure . Both stories begin with a preface , which , for biographer Joseph Kraus , were bravura pieces of " Komische Lyrik " — German comic poetry . Clement Dove ridicules the bourgeois amateur poet circle of Munich , " The Crocodiles " ( Die Krokodile ) , and their prominent members Emanuel Geibel , Paul von Heyse and Adolf Wilbrandt . Painter Squirtle criticizes the bourgeois art connoisseur , who believes the worth of art is gauged by its price .
The prose play Edwards Dream ( Eduards Traum ) was released in 1891 , composed of several small grouped episodes , rather than one linear storyline . The work received mixed reception . Joseph Kraus felt it was the peak of Busch 's life 's work , his nephews called it a masterwork of world literature , and the publisher of a critical collective edition spoke of a narrative style that is not found in contemporary literature . Eva Weissweiler saw in the play Busch 's attempt to prove himself in the novella genre , believing that everything that angered or insulted him , and his accompanying emotional depths , are apparent in the story . The 1895 story The Butterfly ( Der Schmetterling ) parodies themes and motifs and ridicules the religious optimism of a German romanticism which contradicted Busch 's realistic anthropology influenced by Schopenhauer and Charles Darwin . Its prose is more stringent in narrative style compared to Edwards Dream . Both were not popular amongst readers , because of their unfamiliar style .
= = = Painting = = =
Busch felt his painting skills could not compete with those of the Dutch masters . He regarded few of his paintings as finished , often stacking them one on top of the other in damp corners of his studio , where they stuck together . If the pile of paintings became too high , he burnt some in his garden . Since only a few remaining pictures are dated , categorizing them is difficult . His doubts regarding his skills are expressed in his choice of materials . His ground was usually chosen carelessly . Sometimes he used uneven cardboard or poorly @-@ prepared spruce @-@ wood boards . One exception is a portrait of Johanna Kessler , on a canvas support measuring 63 centimetres ( 25 in ) by 53 centimetres ( 21 in ) , one of his largest paintings . Most of his works , even landscapes , are small . As Busch used poor grounds and colours , most are heavily darkened and have an almost monochrome effect .
Many pictures depict the countryside at Wiedensahl and Lüthorst . They include pollarded willows , cottages in cornfields , cowherds , autumn landscapes and meadows with streams . A particular feature is the use of red jackets , found in about 280 of 1000 Busch paintings and drawings . The muted or bright red coats are worn usually by a small figure , depicted from behind . The paintings generally represent typical villages . Portraits of the Kesslers , and a series of other portraits depicting Lina Weissenborn in the mid @-@ 1870s , are exceptions . A painting of a 10 @-@ year @-@ old girl from a Jewish family at Lüthorst portrays her as serious , and having dark , oriental features .
The influence of Dutch painters is clearly visible in Busch 's work . " Hals diluted and shortened ( ... ) but still Halsian " , wrote Paul Klee after visiting a Busch memorial exhibition in 1908 . A strong influence on Busch was Adriaen Brouwer , whose themes were farming and inn life , rustic dances , card players , smokers , drunkards and rowdies . He dismissed the techniques of Impressionism with its strong preoccupation with the effect of light , and used new colours , such as Aniline Yellow , and photographs , as an aid . The landscapes from the mid @-@ 1880s show the same broad brushstrokes as seen in the paintings of the young Franz von Lenbach . Busch refused to exhibit work even though he was befriended by many artists of the Munich School , which would have allowed him to do so ; it was not until near the end of his life that he presented his paintings to the public .
= = Themes , technique and style = =
Busch biographer Joseph Kraus divided his work into three periods . He points out , however , that this classification is a simplification , as some works by their nature can be of a later or earlier period . All three periods show Busch 's obsession with German middle class life . His peasants are devoid of sensitivity and village life is marked by a vivid lack of sentiment .
From 1858 to 1865 Busch chiefly worked for the Fliegenden Blätter and the Münchener Bilderbogen . The period from 1866 to 1884 is characterized by his major illustrated stories , such as Helen Who Couldn 't Help It . These stories are different in theme from works of his earlier period . The life of his characters start well , but disintegrate , as in Painter Squirtle ( Maler Klecksel ) ; someone sensitive who becomes a pedant . Others concern recalcitrant children or animals , or make the great or significant foolish and ridiculous . The early stories follow the pattern of children 's books of orthodox education , such as those by Heinrich Hoffmann 's Struwwelpeter , that aim to teach the devastating consequences of bad behaviour . Busch did not assign value to his work , as he once explained to Heinrich Richter : " I look at my things for what they are , as Nuremberg trinkets [ toys ] , as Schnurr Pfeiferen [ worthless and useless things ] whose value is to be found not in its artistic content , but in public demand ( ... ) " .
From 1885 until his death in 1908 his work was dominated by prose and poems . The 1895 prose text Der Schmetterling contains autobiographical accounts . Peter 's enchantment by the witch Lucinde , of whom he regards himself a slave , is possibly in reference to Johanna Kessler . Peter , like Busch , returns to his birthplace . It is similar in style to the romantic travel story that Ludwig Tieck established with his 1798 Franz Sternbald 's Wanderungen . Busch plays with its traditional forms , motifs , pictures , literary topics and form of narration .
= = = Technique = = =
Publisher Kaspar Braun , who commissioned Busch 's first illustrations , had established the first workshop in Germany to use wood engraving . This letterpress printing technique was developed by English graphic artist Thomas Bewick near the end of the 18th century and became the most widely used reproduction system for illustrations over the years . Busch insisted on first making the drawings , afterwards writing the verse . Surviving preparatory drawings show line notes , ideas , and movement and physiognomy studies . The draft was then transferred by pencil on white @-@ primed panels of hardwood end grain . Not only was it hard work , but the quality of the printing block was crucial . Everything left white on the block , around Busch 's drawn lines , was cut from the plate by skilled engravers . Wood engraving allows a finer differentiation than woodcut and the potential tonal values are of almost the quality of intaglio printing , such as copper engraving . Sometimes the result was not satisfactory , leading Busch to rework or reproduce plates . The wood engraving technique did not allow for fine lines , which is why Busch 's drawing , especially in his illustrated tales up to the mid @-@ 1870s , are boldly drawn , giving his work its particular characteristic .
From the mid @-@ 1870s Busch 's illustrations were printed using zincography . With this technique there was no longer any danger that a wood engraver could change the character of his drawings . The originals were photographed and transferred onto a photosensitive zinc plate . This process allowed for the application of a clear , free pen @-@ drawn ink line , and was a much faster printing method . Busch 's use of zincography began with Mr. and Mrs. Knopp .
= = = Language = = =
The effect of Busch 's illustrations are enhanced by his forthright verse , with taunts , derision , ironic twists , exaggeration , ambiguity and startling rhymes . His language had an influence on the humorous poetry of Erich Kästner , Kurt Tucholsky , Joachim Ringelnatz and Christian Morgenstern . The contrast in his later work between comic illustration and its seemingly serious accompanying text — already demonstrated in his earlier Max and Moritz — is shown in Widow Bolte 's mawkish dignity which is disproportionate to the loss of her chickens :
Many of Brusch 's couplets , part of contemporary common usage , give the impression of weighty wisdom , but in his hands become only apparent truths , hypocrisy or platitudes . His use of onomatopoeia is a characteristic of his work : " Allez @-@ oop @-@ da " — Max and Moritz steal fried chickens with a fishing rod down a chimney — " reeker @-@ rawker " ; " at the plank from bank to bank " ; " rickle @-@ rackle " , " hear the millstones grind and crackle " ; and " tinkly @-@ clinket " as Eric the cat rips a chandelier from a ceiling in Helen Who Couldn 't Help It . Busch uses names he gives characters to describe their personality . " Studiosus Döppe " ( Young Bumbel ) has little mental ability ; " Sauerbrots " ( Sourdough ) would not be of a cheerful disposition ; and " Förster Knarrtje " ( Forester Knarrtje ) could hardly be a socialite .
Many of his picture stories use verses with trochee structure :
The overweighting of the stressed syllables strengthens the humour of the lines . Busch also uses dactyls , where one accented syllable is followed by two unaccented syllables , as in his Plisch und Plum , where they underline the pedantic and solemn words with which teacher Bokelmann educates his pupils . They create tension in the Sourdough chapter from Adventures of a Bachelor , through the alternation of trochees and dactyls . Busch often synchronizes format and content in his poems , as in Fips the Monkey , where he uses the epic hexameter in a speech about wisdom .
In both his illustrations and poems Busch uses familiar fables , occasionally appropriating their morality and stories , spinning them to illustrate a very different and comic " truth " , and bringing to bear his pessimistic view of the world and human condition . While traditional fables follow the typical philosophy of differentiating between good and evil behaviour , Busch combines both .
= = = Canings and other cruelties = = =
It is not unusual to see thrashing , tormenting and caning in Busch 's works . Sharp pencils pierced through models , housewives fall onto kitchen knives , thieves are spiked by umbrellas , tailors cut their tormentors with scissors , rascals are ground in corn mills , drunkards burn , and cats , dogs and monkeys defecate while being tormented . Busch has been frequently called a sadist by educators and psychologists . Tails that are burnt , pulled off , trapped , stretched or eaten is seen by Weissweiler as not aggression against animals , but a phallic allusion to Busch 's undeveloped sexual life . Such graphic text and imagery in cartoon form was not unusual at the time , and publishers , the public or censors found it not particularly noteworthy . Topics and motifs for his early work were derived from 18th- and 19th @-@ century popular literature , the gruesome endings of which he often softened .
Caning , a common aspect of 19th @-@ century teaching , is prevalent in many of his works , for example Meister Druff in Adventures of a Bachelor and Lehrer Bokelmann in Plish and Plum , where is shown an almost sexual pleasure in applying punishment . Beatings and humiliation are found in his later work too ; biographer Gudrun Schury described this as Busch 's life @-@ motif .
In the estate of Busch there is the note " Durch die Kinderjahre hindurchgeprügelt " ( Beaten through the childhood years ) , however there is no evidence that Busch was referring to himself . He couldn 't recall any beating from his father . His uncle Kleine beat him once , not with the conventional rattan stick , but symbolically with dried dahlia stalks , this for stuffing cow hairs into a village idiot 's pipe . Weissweiler observes that Busch probably saw canings at his village school , where he went for three years , and quite possibly also received this punishment . In Abenteuer eines Junggesellen Busch illustrates a form of nonviolent progressive education that fails in one scene , and caning in the following scene ; the canings that ensued indicate Busch 's pessimistic picture of life , which has its roots in the Protestant ethic of the 19th century , in which he believed that man is inherently evil and will never master his vices . Civilisation is the aim of education , but it can only mask man 's instincts superficially . Gentleness only leads to a continuation of man 's misdeeds , therefore punishment is required , even if he retains his unrepentant character , becomes a trained puppet , or in extreme cases , dies .
= = = Antisemitism = = =
The Panic of 1873 led to growing criticism of high finance and the spread of radical Antisemitism , which in the 1880s became a broad undercurrent . These criticisms saw a separation of capital into what was construed as " raffendes " ( speculative capital ) , and what constituted " constructive " creative production capital . The " good " , " native " and " German " manufacturer was praised by Antisemitic agitators , such as Theodor Fritsch , who opposed what he saw as " ' rapacious ' ' greedy ' , ' blood @-@ sucking ' , ' Jewish ' financial capitalism in the form of ' plutocrats ' and ' usurers ' " . Busch was thought to have embraced those stereotypes . Two passages are often underlined , one in Helen Who Couldn 't Help It :
Robert Gernhardt defended Busch by stating that Jews are satirized only in three passages , of which the oldest is an illustration of a text by another author , published in 1860 . He stated that Busch 's Jewish figures are merely stereotypical , one of a number of stereotypes , such as the " limited Bavarian farmer " and the " Prussian tourist " . Joseph Kraus shares the same view , and uses a couplet from Eight Sheets in the Wind ( Die Haarbeutel ) , in which profit @-@ seeking people are :
Although Gernhardt felt that Jews for Busch were alien , the Jewish conductor Hermann Levi befriended him , suggesting that Busch had a slight bias towards Jews .
= = Biographies = =
The first biography on Busch , Über Wilhelm Busch und seine Bedeutung ( About Wilhelm Busch and His Importance ) , was released in 1886 . The publisher Eduard Daelen , also an artist and writer , echoed Busch 's anti @-@ Catholic bias , putting him on equal footing with Leonardo da Vinci , Peter Paul Rubens and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz , and uncritically quoting correspondences . Even Busch and his friends were embarrassed . Literary scholar Friedrich Theodor Vischer attacked Daelen 's biography and called him the " envious eunuch of the desiccated Philistine " . After reading this biography Johannes Proelß posted an essay in the Frankfurter Zeitung , which contained many biographical falsehoods — as a response to this , Busch wrote two articles in the same newspaper . Published in October and December 1886 , the autobiographical essay Regarding Myself ( Was Mich Betrifft ) includes basic facts , and some description of his troubles ; analysts see within the essay a deep identity crisis . Busch revised his autobiography over the following years . The last such essay was published under the title From Me About Me ( Von mir über mich ) , which includes fewer biographical details and less reflection on bitterness and amusement than Regarding Myself .
= = Legacy = =
Busch celebrated his 70th anniversary at his nephew 's house in Hattorf am Harz . Over 1 @,@ 000 congratulatory messages were sent to Mechtshausen from around the world . Wilhelm II praised the poet and artist , whose " exquisite works are full of genuine humour and are everlasting for the German people " . The Austrian Alldeutsche Vereinigung ( Pan @-@ German Association ) repealed the ban on Der heilige Antonius von Padua . Verlag Braun & Schneider , who owned the rights of Max and Moritz , gave Busch 20 @,@ 000 Reichsmark ( around € 200 @,@ 000 or $ 270 @,@ 000 ) , which was donated to two hospitals in Hanover .
Since then , on the dates of his birth and death , he has been celebrated frequently . During the 175th anniversary in 2007 , there were numerous re @-@ publications of Busch works . Deutsche Post issued stamps depicting the Busch character Hans Huckebein — itself the inspiration for the nickname of the never @-@ built Focke @-@ Wulf Ta 183 German jet fighter design of 1945 — and the German Republic minted a 10 Euro silver coin faced with his portrait . Hanover declared 2007 the " Wilhelm Busch Year " , with images featuring Busch works erected within the city centre .
The Wilhelm Busch Prize is awarded annually for satirical and humorous poetry . The Wilhelm Busch Society , active since 1930 , aims to " ( ... ) collect , scientifically revise and promote Wilhelm Busch 's works with the public " . It supports the development of caricature and satirical artwork as a recognized branch of the visual arts . It is an advocate of the Wilhelm Busch Museum . Memorials are located in places he lived , including Wiedensahl , Ebergötzen , Lüthorst , Mechtshausen and Hattorf am Harz .
= = = Influence on comics = = =
Andreas C. Knigge described Busch as the " first virtuoso " of illustrated stories . From the second half of the 20th century he was considered the " Forefather of Comics " . His early illustrations differ from those of the colleagues of Kaspar Braun . They show an increasing focus on protagonists , are less detailed in drawing and atmosphere , and develop from a dramatic understanding of the whole story . All Busch 's illustrated tales have a plot that firstly describes the circumstance , then a resulting conflict , then solution . Plots are developed through consecutive scenes , similar to film storyboards . Busch conveys an impression of movement and action , at times strengthened through a change of perspective . According to Gert Ueding , his depiction of movement is unique .
One of Busch 's notable stories is Der Virtuos ( 1865 ) , which describes the life of a pianist who plays privately for an excited listener . Satirizing the self @-@ publicizing artist 's attitude and his overblown adoration , it varies from Busch 's other stories as each scene does not contain prose , but is defined with music terminology , such as " Introduzione " , " Maestoso " and " Fortissimo vivacissimo " . As the scenes increase in tempo , each part of his body and lappet run around . The penultimate scene again depicts the pianist 's movements , with score sheets floating above the grand piano on which musical notes are dancing . Over the years graphic artists have been fascinated by Der Virtuos . August Macke , in a letter to gallery owner Herwarth Walden , described Busch as the first Futurist , stating how well he captured time and movement . Similar pioneering scenes are in Bilder zur Jobsiade ( 1872 ) . Job fails to answer rather easy questions set by twelve clergy , who shake their heads in synchronicity . Each scene is a movement study that presages Eadweard Muybridge 's photography . Muybridge began his work in 1872 , not released until 1893 .
= = = " Moritzian " influence = = =
Busch 's greatest success , both within Germany and internationally , was with Max and Moritz : Up to the time of his death it was translated into English , Danish , Hebrew , Japanese , Latin , Polish , Portuguese , Russian , Hungarian , Swedish and Walloonian . Several countries banned the story – about 1929 the Styrian school board prohibited sales of Max and Moritz to teens under eighteen . By 1997 more than 281 dialect and language translations had been produced .
Some early " Moritzian " comic strips were heavily influenced by Busch in plot and narrative style . Tootle and Bootle ( 1896 ) , borrowed so much content from Max and Moritz that it was described as a pirate edition . The true " Moritzian " recreation is The Katzenjammer Kids by German artist Rudolph Dirks , published in the New York Journal from 1897 . It was published though William Randolph Hearst 's suggestion that a pair of siblings following the pattern of " Max and Moritz " should be created . The Katzenjammer Kids is regarded as one of the oldest , continuous comic strips .
German " Moritzian " -inspired stories include Lies und Lene ; die Schwestern von Max und Moritz ( Hulda Levetzow , F. Maddalena , 1896 ) , Schlumperfritz und Schlamperfranz ( 1922 ) , Sigismund und Waldemar , des Max und Moritz Zwillingspaar ( Walther Günther , 1932 ) and Mac und Mufti ( Thomas Ahlers , Volker Dehs , 1987 ) . These are shaped by observations of the First and Second World Wars , while the original is a moral story . In 1958 the Christian Democratic Union used the Max and Moritz characters for a campaign in North Rhine @-@ Westphalia , the same year that the East German satirical magazine Eulenspiegel used them to caricature black labour . In 1969 Max and Moritz " participated " in late 1960s student activism .
= = Partial list of works = =
= Crown Fountain =
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago 's Millennium Park , which is located in the Loop community area . Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects , it opened in July 2004 . The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers . The towers are 50 feet ( 15 @.@ 2 m ) tall , and they use light @-@ emitting diodes ( LEDs ) to display digital videos on their inward faces . Construction and design of the Crown Fountain cost $ 17 million . The water operates from May to October , intermittently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower 's front face .
Residents and critics have praised the fountain for its artistic and entertainment features . It highlights Plensa 's themes of dualism , light , and water , extending the use of video technology from his prior works . Its use of water is unique among Chicago 's many fountains , in that it promotes physical interaction between the public and the water . Both the fountain and Millennium Park are highly accessible because of their universal design .
Crown Fountain has been one of the most controversial of all the Millennium Park features . Before it was even built , some were concerned that the sculpture 's height violated the aesthetic tradition of the park . After construction , surveillance cameras were installed atop the fountain , which led to a public outcry ( and their quick removal ) .
However , the fountain has survived its contentious beginnings to find its way into Chicago pop culture . It is a popular subject for photographers and a common gathering place . While some of the videos displayed are of scenery , most attention has focused on its video clips of local residents ; hundreds of Chicagoans visit the fountain hoping to see themselves appearing on one of the fountain 's two screens . The fountain is a public play area and offers people an escape from summer heat , allowing children to frolic in the fountain 's water .
= = Concept and design = =
Grant Park , which is between Lake Michigan and the central business district , is commonly called " Chicago 's Front Yard " . Its northwest corner had been Illinois Central rail yards and parking lots until 1997 , when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park . Millennium Park was conceived in 1998 as the capstone of Grant Park , to celebrate the new millennium and to feature world @-@ renowned architects , artists , designers , landscape architects , and urban planners . As of 2007 , Millennium Park trails only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction . The fountain is centrally located in Chicago : it is east of Michigan Avenue and its Historic Michigan Boulevard District , north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute of Chicago ; and south of Madison Street . Looking north from the fountain , viewers see some of the tallest buildings in the United States ( Aon Center , Two Prudential Plaza , and One Prudential Plaza ) .
= = = Selection of artist = = =
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 .
= = = Artistic design = = =
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 .
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 .
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 .