Tuesday, May 10, 2011

ATLANTApix: The Lions of Atlanta

Les Lions d'Atlanta (The Lions of Atlanta)
Many Atlanta residents know John Portman as the architect (literally) of our fair city. He's responsible for a great many of our downtown buildings, including the Westin Peachtree Plaza, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and the Marriott Marquis (sometimes referred to as the "pregnant building"), the latter being located on Peachtree Center Avenue.

It took a lot of digging, but I finally uncovered who sculpted the four monumental abstract bronze lions perched in front of the Marriott Marquis. John Portman himself commissioned Olivier Strebelle, a globally renowned Brussells-born artist, to create the the two pairs of guardians of the Marquis, where they have stood watch since 1986.

"Les Lions d'Atlanta" (The Lions of Atlanta) is a landmark any Atlanta local or frequent visitor will recognize...and now you can tell them the name of the work and who its creator is.

While you're exploring downtown, looking at placards for other works of art (which I couldn't find for Les Lions d'Atlanta), you'll find that John Portman designed, created, or is otherwise responsible for quite a few of our beautiful works of art.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

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