Marilyn Monroe sculpture unveiled in Chicago

Spectators look at " Forever Marilyn", a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 15, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois.

/ Getty

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - A 26-foot sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her most famous pose was unveiled on Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Friday morning.

Passers-by wasted little time positioning themselves under her billowing skirt to get a subway-grate view of Monroe in the same stance as she appeared in the 1955 film "The Seven Year Itch."

Pictures: Marilyn Monroe

Pioneer Court, where the stainless steel and aluminum sculpture of Monroe now stands, is known for unusual public art displays. Years ago, Michigan Avenue was lined with fiberglass cows.

And in that same plaza, another sculpture by the same artist, Seward Johnson, was put up: a tribute to the grim-faced farmer and daughter of Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting.

The Marilyn Monroe statue will stand though spring 2012.

[bradkt1]

Look on the bright side. At least she is wearing her drawers.

Now had this been a giant sculpture of Britany Spears or Paris Hilton...

[sapphyre1120]

If it had been Brittany or Paris, they would use real cheap materials to construct it.

[Jack06854]

How much federal and local money went to pay for that thing? Very likely a lot of our tax dollars at work.

[signseeker1717]

NONE. It was commissioned and donated by a local real estate company who has donated other public art to the city in the past.

[BootAllDems]

You know that SOME HOW, SOME WAY, your tax dollars paid for this ridiculous, tacky, and tasteless behemoth...

[jtrauscht5_dotmac]

Soooo tacky. Wow. How about some velvet Elvis paintings to go with that?

[AnnieDanny]

I don't know what I expected, but that's kinda disgusting. So now, all the dirty ol' men can look up her skirts like they always wanted to... THIS is what Marilyn Monroe's legacy means? Wow, I'm sure she would feel totally honored if she was with us today. :P

[David4301]

Love Marilyn Monroe. I am glad she is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

[troyriser]

Seward Johnson is laughing at you, Chicago. He's throwing a little postmodern mockery your way in the form of a giant, unsightly piece of kitsch, and I'm surprised you went for it. 'Husky, brawling, city of the big shoulders' has become a gullible rube. Enjoy.

[roblearns]

oh the freaks are out tonight.

What this is - is an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe was a pinup girl - a very famous one.

But if you don't remember her for that, then you don't remember her for anything. She didn't invent the light bulb people, or win a nobel prize - she was a very attractive woman that caught the attention of america.

And thats OK, because while being a nobel prize winner is commendable its not something everyone can achieve.

Frankly there isn't any cause to be upset. I guess some of you saw a glimpse of undies and blew your top. To that my answer is, grow up. Big deal.

[Transatlantique]

Marilyn Monroe happened to be a great actress. Did you ever see "The Misfits"? She gave a commendable performance in that film that critics rave about today. She wasn't just a pinup girl. She studied with Lee Strasberg and wanted to shed that image. Who knows what she might have thought about this statue? As purely a work of art, this statue works. As a commemorative piece, it fails because of the silly people who will pose under it with tasteless gestures. However, Americans are famous for those.

[Danize]

Tacky beyond belief. Chicago's version of the Statue of Liberty?

[chicagoray]

It is a perverted disgrace by a gay artist which explains it's simple degradation of women. This woman was killed over that imagery she couldn't live up to and this sick celeb possessed culture just built the very false Idols the bible warns against

I haven't been in church for a while but can see the sick worshiping of a dead celebrity here, who either was killed by the president's minions (a president who was humping her with his brother, who all three were offed) who also offed him or by suicide. What a role model. What's next, a Snoop Dogg statue?

[moronpolitics]

So now everybody know 'Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio'. Not only that, come and gone. Bet he is glad that he is dead. He got so mad during the shoot on this and the 60 or so retakes that they had to take him home. Can't blame him.