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Batcolumn by Claes Oldenburg
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Batcolumn
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

Batcolumn

Artist
Year1977
Classification sculpture
Medium Painted steel and aluminum
Dimensions101 x 9.75 x 4.5 ft. (3078.3 x 297.2 x 137.2 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Oldenburg's "Batcolumn" is a stylized rendering of a baseball bat, soaring high above the plaza square at the U.S. Social Security Administration in Chicago.  The towering "Batcolumn" is comprised of 1,608 pieces of flat steel welded into diamond patterns and the enormous open structure ascends 100' into the sky.  At its largest point, it is 9'9" in diameter and weighs approximately 20 tons.  The sculpture rests on an alumuminum base.