DOWNTOWN — Anish Kapoor, whose bean-like Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park has become an international symbol of Chicago, has been named the 2017 Genesis Prize Laureate.
The honor recognizes people who "inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the state of Israel," according to the prize committee.
The prize carries a $1 million prize though it has become a tradition for the winner to use the money on philanthropy.
The committee said Kapoor will use the money to help refugees, citing how more than 12.5 million Syrians have been displaced by conflicts, including 2.5 million children.
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While insisting, "I am an artist, not a politician" Kapoor told the Guardian newspaper, "I feel I must speak out against indifference for the suffering of others."
“I believe that in the current political climate the world over, it is more important than ever that we continue to stand against the abhorrent government policies that are an offense against our ethics and the very tenets of what it means to be human," said the London resident.
Natan Sharansky, head of the Genesis Prize selection committee, said, “Throughout our history, the Jewish people suffered not only from active and violent anti-Semitism, perpetrated by a minority, but also from the indifference of the majority. It is this indifference that made persecution, massacres and the Holocaust possible.
"Anish Kapoor has campaigned against indifference his whole life. His message is clear, powerful, and inspiring," said Sharansky.
Time magazine has dubbed the prize the "Jewish Nobel."
Kapoor, the son of a Jewish mother and Indian father, also created the Holocaust Memorial in London. Born in Bombay, he lived in Israel as a teen.
As for his Chicago work, Kapoor has said the 110-ton, 66-foot-long, 33-foot-high elliptical sculpture was inspired by liquid mercury. Unveiled in 2004, the artwork, affectionately nicknamed "The Bean," was entitled "Cloud Gate" because 80 percent of the surface reflects the sky, Kapoor has said.
"The work itself has a complete circle of meaning and counterpoint. Without your involvement as a viewer there is no story," says Kapoor, 62.
