Spoonbridge and Cherry

The Spoonbridge and Cherry is a 29-foot-high aluminium sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden that has become the unofficial symbol of the city. A giant spoon arcs over a reflecting pool with a 1,200-pound cherry balanced on its bowl, a small water jet spraying from the stem. It is one of the most successful pieces of civic public art in America — funny, enormous, and completely at home in its garden setting.

The sculpture is part of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, adjacent to the Walker Art Center on the edge of Loring Park. The garden is free and open daily. In winter, the reflecting pool freezes and the cherry becomes a centerpiece for winter photography. In summer, the garden is thronged with visitors but remains pleasant — it is large enough to absorb crowds without feeling overcrowded.

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A story
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen designed the work in 1985, when the Walker asked them to create a fountain for the new sculpture garden. Oldenburg's original sketch showed a screw — an industrial fastener with water spraying from its tip. The screw became a spoon after he noticed that a spoon, like a screw, tapers to a point. The cherry arrived last, replacing a ball, after van Bruggen suggested it improved the colour composition. The work cost $1.5 million, funded partly by General Mills (makers of Cheerios, headquartered in Minneapolis).