Giant sculpture to be moved from Thompson Center by end of April

A sculpture that has stood outside the Thompson Center for four decades will be moved by the end of the month.

“Monument with Standing Beast,” by French artist Jean Dubuffet, is being moved, for now, to a yet-to-be-determined state facility.

It was announced last year that the artwork — nicknamd “Snoopy in a Blender” — eventually will be headed to the Art Institute of Chicago, where several Dubuffet works already are displayed.

“We are honored to steward this work on behalf of the state when the time comes,” the Art Institute said in an email.

But state officials are still determining next steps before that long-term loan, according to the Art Institute. The sculpture will go to a state-owned facility for now.

“It is meant to be a temporary storage site until long-term planning, including renovation and display, can be finalized,” according to an email from the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.

The move comes after Google announced its purchase of the Thompson Center in 2022. The company plans to redevelop the former government building into offices.

The “Snoopy” nickname stems from the sculpture’s jigsawed, black-and-white architecture. Dubuffet described it as a “drawing which extends … into space.” The sculpture’s four elements are meant to suggest a standing animal, a tree, a portal and an architectural form.

Visitors also can walk inside and through the 29-foot sculpture, something Dubuffet hoped would resonate with passersby.

“It reminds me of Chicago when I see it,” said Cory Wynne from Wicker Park, who has viewed the sculpture for decades.

Like Wynne, Caron Pollard from Rogers Park has encountered the sculpture since childhood, but Pollard is “not opposed to change.”

David Tranen, who lives in the Gold Coast, passes the sculpture “all the time” and said he’s drawn to the material of the fiberglass sculpture.

“It’s good to preserve art in the city and keep it in its place,” Tranen said. “I’d like it to stay here.”