DESIGN DISPATCH

Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy Reach at O’Hare, and Other News

Our daily look at the world through the lens of design.

“REACH” (2023) by Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy. Photography by Nicole Harrison/For Freedoms

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Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy unveil a giant sculpture at a Chicago airport.

Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy have created a sculpture called REACH at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The artwork features two outstretched hands, spanning 27 feet and 31 feet, that hover above the airport’s Multi-Modal Facility and are suspended in an ambiguous moment that could signify separation or coming together. The colossal sculpture is the latest addition to the airport’s ambitious public art program, which is currently in the midst of a $3.5 million effort to commission more contemporary art.

Armed robbers attack Bulgari’s flagship in Paris and steal millions worth of goods.

Armed robbers attacked Bulgari’s flagship at Place Vendôme on Thursday, injuring a security guard and stealing goods worth millions of Euros. Videos circulating on Twitter show a black-clad individual guarding motorcycles in front of the store’s entrance, shooing away passersby. The case has been referred to a special police unit for investigation.

Investors sue Adidas over the athletic brand’s broken partnership with Kanye West.

Investors have sued Adidas and claim the company was aware of the risks associated with its partnership with rapper Kanye West before his anti-Semitic comments were made public. According to the lawsuit, Adidas executives discussed the risks of continuing the partnership as early as 2018. Reports in subsequent years failed to disclose that West made anti-Semitic comments to Adidas staff, leading to the deal’s eventual termination and a decline in Adidas shares. The lawsuit seeks to represent investors who bought Adidas securities between May 3, 2018, and Feb. 21, and names former CEO Kasper Rorsted as a defendant.

The bronze sculpture in memory of Freya the walrus. Photography by Annika yrde/NTB/Getty Images

Freya, the walrus killed by Norwegian authorities, gets immortalized as a sculpture.

Last summer, a 1,300-pound walrus named Freya visited Oslo and became an instant media sensation, dividing Norway when it was killed by authorities due to human safety concerns. In memory of Freya, a bronze sculpture of the walrus has been unveiled in Kongen Marina in Oslo, created by Norwegian artist Astri Tonoian. The sculpture, called For Our Sins, depicts a life-size Freya that weighs 650 pounds, roughly half her true weight, and was created with support from an online campaign that raised $25,000.

An art student eats Maurizio Cattelan’s banana at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul.

At the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, a college student described his consumption of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian artwork as “artwork” itself. The student, who skipped breakfast, peeled the duct-taped banana from the piece, ate it on the spot, and reattached only the banana peel with existing tape. The banana is replaced every few days as per the artist’s instructions. The museum has decided to not seek damages from the student.

Climate activists hit Fondation Louis Vuitton with paint bombs and fire extinguishers. 

On Labor Day in Paris, environmental activists targeted the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a cultural symbol of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton group, by throwing paint bombs and using fire extinguishers on the museum’s facade. Members of Extinction Rebellion, a climate change activist group, demanded corporations take responsibility and act against global warming. The museum, which was closed at the time, later erased the signs of the protest.

O’Keeffe in 1960. Photography by Tony Vaccaro/Getty Images

Today’s attractive distractions:

All the critics who savaged Georgia O’Keeffe’s work have one thing in common.

It’s crunch time for Eva Longoria, who directed a film about Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

According to one Twitter user, oil rigs carry an “unintentional dystopian beauty.”

Amazon’s Slack channel for performance improvement is marked by anguish.

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