Built: 1985-1988 Designed by: Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen Type: Monument Maximum Height: 30 feet / 9 meters Maximum width: 15 feet / 4 meters Maximum length: 52 feet / 16 meters Location: 726 Vineland Place, Minneapolis, United States
Building Rating 60% of readers like the Spoonbridge and Cherry.
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M ore famous and enduring than the Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture is the new symbol of Minneapolis. In some ways, it can be thought of as an echo of the city, itself. Positioned in the center of a stark field reminiscent of the bleakness of a Minnesota winter, the sculpture is a colorful and whimsical contrast to the world around it, much like its host city.
In structure, the spoonbridge is, indeed, a bridge -- though its angle and slick surface make crossing it impractical. The angled neck of Claes Oldenburg's spoon rests on a tuffet of sod in the center of a small pond. The cherry is actually a separate sculpture by Coosje van Bruggen. It seems to defy gravity and slowly slide up the concave side of dipper. Like the husband-and-wife artist team, the two items work well together.
This sculpture weighs 7,000 pounds.
The spoon and the cherry are actually separate sculptures.
The sculptures are made from aluminum and stainless steel.
The sculptures were fabricated at the Lippincott shipyard in North Haven, Connecticut; and at the Merrifield-Roberts shipyard in Bristol, Rhode Island.
The park that the sculpture is in is surrounded by Linden trees, and the pond is in the shape of a Linden seed.
The sculpture is a gift from Frederick R. Weisman to honor his parents, William and Mary Weisman.
