The Runners – by Theodoros Papagiannis

 

Installed: April, 2011

Dedicated: Sep, 2011.

Donated by the Athens Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International and

supported by Chicago’s large Greek-American community.

“The Runners” Public Art Project is a partnership of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs,
Department of Aviation, Chicago Gateway Green, and the Chicago Sister Cities International Program.

Sculpture Runners  depicts five runners emerging from antiquity into the modern world.

Installation began in March 2011  along the I-190 south side embankment and was completed in April 2011.

In 2006, the City of Chicago sponsored an international sculpture competition which garnered over 50 entries from artists around the world. Ultimately the Committee selected “The Runners” piece by Theodoros Papagiannis for it’s intricate and original design.

In April, 2011,  “The Runners Sculpture” was installed at O’Hare International Airport.  It is a massive 16-foot high  40-foot long sculpture. There are 10 individual runner statues. Each of the first five runners, is about 6,000 pounds [3 tons] and each of the later empty runners, is about 12,000 pounds [5-6 tons].   The statues are made of special high grade, vessel strength stainless steel, about two-&-quarter inches thick.  These pieces are water-jet cut. The sculptures are set in about four-&- a-half feet deep concrete pour, below the surface, of which, the  top nine inches of concrete is stained in “Cool Gray” shade, which matches with the color tone of the sculpture.  The lower edge of each foot of the Runner statues, extends three feet below the surface, and the anchor run a further one-&-a-half feet deep.   All concrete has air– entrainment to weather Chicago’s freeze-thaw conditions. All concrete reinforcements are Epoxy coated, to make them non-corrosive, making the expected life of the sculpture to be more than a 1,000 years.

 

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My involvement

 

I was commissioned by the City of Chicago, Department of Tourism and Culture , to photo-document the installation of the sculpture. This involved multiple visits to the site to photograph the progress of installation. There were four concrete pours, landscaping, cleaning of the sculpture, fundraising events and dedication ceremony. Here is a nutshell of the progress, with many links that go to the original posts.

 

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Prof. Theodoros Papagiannis, sculptor of The Runners. Check out the Theodoros Papagiannis Museum of Contemporary Art, in Elliniko, Ioannina, Greece click here..

Mr. Demetrois Kozonis, Chairman of Athens Committee and President of Delko Construction company.

Mr. Andrew T. Dumovich, Project-manager of the Runners Project. He is the Vice President of Delko Construction Co., Inc.

 

 

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DEDICATION CEREMONY

 

 

 Demetrios Kozonis, Ioanna Efthymiadou, Leroy Allala, Bill Curtis,
Rosemarie Andolino, Michelle Boone, [name please] and Bill Rodgers.

 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Dedication Ceremony of The Runners, by Dr. Theodoros Papagiannis..
Location: O’Hare International Airport.

For details, click here..

 

 

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FUNDRAISING EVENT

 

 

Fundraising Event: Friday, April 29, 2011

A fundraising event was organized by the Chicago–Athens Sister City Committee at Rosewood Banquests

For details, click here..

 

 

 

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INSTALLATION of THE RUNNERS

 

 

The Runners”, is a massive 16-foot x 40-foot sculpture, with 10 individual runner statues. Each of the first five runners, is about 6,000 pounds [3 tons] and each of the later empty runners, is about 12,000 pounds [5-6 tons]. This major installation went through many different stages. This major installation went through many different stages.

For details, click here..

By March 14, 2011: The site was prepped for the statues installation with fencing of the area and excavation.
21 March 2011: Setting plates and rebar were installed
25 March 2011: First concrete pour..  click here..
05 April 2011: Installation of The Runners statues..  click here..
11 April 2011: Second concrete pour
20 April 2011: Third and Final concrete pour

 

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LANDSCAPING

 

 

Landscaping is by Christy Webber Landscapes,
The groundcover around the installation is Purple Wintercreeper Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’.
For details, click here..

 

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SOME RANDOM IMAGES

 

 

 

 

 

 

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