Pigs Will Not Fly at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago

The city denied an application for an art installation that would have tethered giant golden pigs to a barge on the Chicago River, temporarily interrupting the view of the sign on the infamous Trump sign.

1 minute read

July 29, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Trump Sign

Aneta Waberska / Shutterstock

Leonor Vivanco reports: "The plan to install four golden, pig-shaped balloons to block the Trump Tower sign in a one-day protest planned for September was deflated by the city, which denied the design company a permit, the firm said."

"The 30-foot-by-15-foot helium balloons — part of the proposed art installation called 'Flying Pigs on Parade: A Chicago River Folly' and designed by Chicago-based New World Design — were intended to be tethered to a construction barge in the Chicago River to cover President Donald Trump's last name on the tower's southeast façade," adds Vivanco.

The demonstration not only takes direct action against the president, it also digs up the ghosts of a pre-campaign kerfuffle between Trump and Chicago Tribune Architecture Critic Blair Kamin over the size and placement of the Trump sign on Trump International Hotel & Tower, located along the Chicago River.  

Mathew Messner reported the news about the status of the art installation the day before Vivanco's report. Messner's sources at New World Design claim the permitting issues is only a temporary setback. "The design team is still optimistic about the future and says it is continuing the campaign to realize the project," according to Messner.

Friday, July 28, 2017 in The Architect's Newspaper

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