2014: Mia Capodilupo in The Chicago Tree Project @ Humboldt Park

Above: Mia Capodilupo found with her sculpture in progress at The Chicago Tree Project's Humboldt Park site, June 28, 2014.

Mia Capodilupo
June 28, 2014
The Chicago Tree Project
Humboldt Park
Chicago, IL

http://mcapodil.wordpress.com/

Chicago Sculpture International
Chicago Park District
City of Chicago

"Chicago Sculpture International (CSI), in conjunction with the Chicago Park District (CPD), is proud to announce the 'Chicago Tree Project,' a summer 2014 citywide plan to transform sick and dying trees into vibrant public art. Using art as a vessel for public engagement, sculptors will transform a variety of trees into fun and whimsical experiences for the greater Chicago community. The collaborative project between CSI artists and CPD and is part of the greater initiative to expand the reach of public art in Chicago.

'The Chicago Park District strives to integrate art and nature in many ways to enhance the experience of public spaces,' said General Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Park District Michael P. Kelly. 'This project builds on the city’s reputation for great public art, and brings the work of local sculptors to a wide array of neighborhoods throughout the city.'

Over the course of the summer, ten artists have adopted trees throughout Chicago and modify them through sculpture. With traditional carving methods, as well as mixed media and other embellishment, each tree will receive a new life as a centerpiece designed to encourage dialogue and enrich the surrounding park. The chosen trees will be in geographically diverse areas to give as many residents as possible access to the pieces."

Quotation above from: http://www.chicagosculpture.org/wordpress/the-chicago-tree-project/

Above: Mia Capodilupo working on her sculpture at The Chicago Tree Project's Humboldt Park site, June 28, 2014.

Above: An overview of Chicago's Humboldt Park, east of Sacramento Boulevard, June 28, 2014.

Above: Chicago Dyke March tug of war in Humboldt Park on June 28, 2014.

Above: Chicago Dyke March tug of war in Humboldt Park on June 28, 2014.

Above: Chicago Dyke March queercore band in Humboldt Park on June 28, 2014.

"The 2014 Dyke March will kick-off at Roberto Clemente High School on the southeast corner of Western and Division at 3:30pm and march west down Division street to the boat house in Humboldt Park. The Latina/o PRIDE Picnic, which has been held in the community for almost 10 years will be the ending point for the Dyke March rally and picnic from 4pm-7pm, which will incorporate elements that have made both events a tradition in the LGBTQ community.

[...]

The Chicago Dyke March collective continues to evolve and exist as a grassroots mobilization and celebration of dyke, queer, bisexual, and transgender resilience. It is an anti-racist, anti-violent, volunteer-led, grassroots effort with a goal to bridge together communities across race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, size, gender identity, gender expression, sexuality, culture, immigrant status, spirituality, and ability. We challenge fatphobia and are body positive."

Quotation above from: http://chicagodykemarch.wordpress.com/

Above:
Images (1-6) June 28, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1926: Augustus Saint-Gaudens @ Grant Park

Augustus Saint-Gaudens
"The Head of State"
Abraham Lincoln Memorial
1904, 1906, 1926
Bronze, cast, on a stone base
Grant Park
Jackson Boulevard and Columbus Boulevard
Chicago, IL

John Chippewa Crerar (1827-1889), eponymous benefactor of the University of Chicago library, commissioned the Abraham Lincoln memorial from Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) on October 20, 1897, some thirty-two years after Lincoln's assassination.  Originally cast in 1904, but destroyed in a studio fire, Saint-Gaudens's memorial, "The Head of State," was rebuilt in 1906, with support from Saint-Gaudens' assistants Henry Hering and Elsie Ward, and subsequently cast at the Roman Bronze Foundry, New York, New York.  After a twenty-year period during which it occupied multiple sites outside of Chicago, the statue was coupled with a stone base, designed by Stanford and Laurence White, and presented to the public in Grant Park on May 31, 1926, nearly twenty-nine years after it was commissioned, and well after the death of both Crerar and also Saint-Gaudens himself.

Read more:

Dryfhout, John. "The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens". NH: University Press of New England, 1982. Print.

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (PDF):
http://www.nps.gov/saga/historyculture/upload/Lincoln%20project%20G.pdf

Above:
Images (1-2) November 11, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1924: Albin Polasek @ Grant Park

Albin Polasek
"The Spirit of Music"
Theodore Thomas Memorial
1924
Bronze (cast) on a stone base
Grant Park
Michigan Avenue at Balbo Avenue, the northeast corner
Chicago, IL

Standing roughly 5 meters tall, "The Spirit of Music," memorializing Theodore Thomas, founder of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was commissioned by trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1918.  Albin Polasek (1879-1965), himself employed by the Institute, completed the artwork which, after being placed on Michigan Avenue, opposite Orchestra Hall, was dedicated in 1924.  Subsequent to its dedication, "The Spirit of Music" (contrary to the intent of its creators) was removed to various other locations, during which travels the bronze figure was separated from the granite panels which composed its base.  The memorial's stonework was eventually dumped in Lake Michigan (presumably by employees of the Chicago Park District) where it sat till being discovered 1983.  After an effort at restoration of both the granite and also bronze components, the piece was reinstalled in Grant Park in 1991, near, but not at, its original site.

Read more:

"The Art Of Music: A Neglected CSO Memorial May Get A New Home," Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1991:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-07-28/entertainment/9103230539_1_albin-polasek-art-institute-art-deco

"Hearts of Stone," Jeff Huebner, Reader, July 10, 1997:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/hearts-of-stone/Content?oid=893851

Above:
Image (1) November 11, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1984: Jean Dubuffet @ State of Illinois Building

Jean Dubuffet
"Monument a la Bete Debout"
1984, modeled on a piece from 1969
Fiberglass, paint, polyurethane
The James R. Thompson Center at the State of Illinois Building
Randolph Street at Clark Street
Chicago, IL

"Monument à la bête debout," or, "Monument with Standing Beast," 1984, by Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), stands roughly 10 meters tall, occupying the southeast corner of the James R. Thompson Center, immediately outside of architect Helmut Jahn's State of Illinois Building, in downtown Chicago.  The piece was commissioned by the state's Capital Development Board through the Illinois Art-in-Architecture (AIA) program; significant funding was provided by the Leonard J. Horwich Family Foundation and the Graham Foundation.

Above:
Image (1) August 20, 2006, facing north;
Image (2) August 20, 2006, facing south;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1963: David Smith @ Art Institute of Chicago

Above:  David Smith, "Cubi VII" at left; Alexander Calder, "Flying Dragon" at right.

David Smith
"Cubi VII"
1963
Stainless steel, welded and ground
The Art Institute of Chicago's North Garden
Michigan Avenue, south of Monroe Street
Chicago, IL

http://www.artic.edu/

In the foreground of the image above, an artwork, "Cubi VII," 1963, by one of the most important American sculptors of the post-war era, David Smith (1906-1965), is shown in The Art Institute of Chicago's North Garden; in the background, "Flying Dragon," 1975, by Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is visible.

Above:
Image (1) September 20, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1974: Marc Chagall @ Chase Tower - Exelon Plaza

Marc Chagall
"Four Seasons"
1974
Mosaic tile
Chase Tower / Exelon Plaza
Dearborn Street, near Adams Street
Chicago, IL

Unprotected, the 1974 mosaic mural "Four Seasons," by Marc Chagall (1887-1985), did not fair well in Chicago's climate.  The piece was therefore the subject of major, successive conservation efforts in 1988 and 1996; too, seeking to limit further damage through exposure, the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed a steel and glass shelter for it.  Additionally, a guardrail was placed around its base.  Landscape planters have formed a shield to the east, and south, of the plaza site.  Whether helpful for preservation, the cumulative effect of the surrounding structures has dramatically altered the experience of the artwork itself.  See Mary Ann Sullivan's images of Chagall's "Four Seasons" prior to its enclosure: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/chagall/chagall.html

Read more:

"Chagall Art In Season Of Restoration," Phat X. Chiem, Chicago Tribune, July 14, 1996:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-07-14/news/9607140013_1_mosaic-marc-chagall-restoration

Above: Note relationship between canopy, guardrail, planters, and artwork, as sun strikes the piece from the west.

Above:
Image (1) September 20, 2006;
Image (2) September 20, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1981: Joan Miro @ Brunswick Plaza

Joan Miro
"Chicago"
1981
Concrete over a metallic armature, ceramic tile, and bronze, on a travertine stone base
Brunswick Plaza
Washington Boulevard, between Clark Street and Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL

Situated in an architectural nook formed by the Cook County Administration Building, the Chicago Temple Building, and Harold Washington College, "Chicago," by Joan Miro (1893-1983), is often overlooked in favor of Picasso's sculpture in Daley Plaza on the opposite side of the street.  Standing roughly 12 meters tall, Miro's piece took some 18 years to realize after its proposal, largely as a result of the complex arrangement of its funding.  The Art Institute of Chicago maintains Miro's plaster "Chicago" maquette from 1963: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/100666

Above:
Image (1) September 20, 2006;
Image (2) September 20, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1977: Claes Oldenburg @ Social Security Administration Building

Claes Oldenburg
"Batcolumn"
1977, modeled on a piece shown in 1975
Steel and aluminum, painted with polyurethane enamel
Harold Washington Social Security Administration Building
600 W. Maidson Street
Chicago, IL

Standing roughly 30 meters tall, the painted steel sculpture "Batcolumn," by Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929, Stockholm, Sweden; raised in Chicago), has, as a result of its location, become more difficult to photograph since September 11, 2001. Emblematic of both sport and also violence, phallic, finally executed on a monumental scale by a central authority using public money, "Batcolumn" suggests that Oldenburg knew Chicago well. The "Batcolumn" maquette from 1975, presented to the General Services Administration, now held by the Smithsonian Institution, was painted blood red: http://collections.si.edu/search/direct/L3NlYXJjaC9yZXN1bHRzLmh0bT9xPXJlY29yZF9JRDpzaXJpc19hcmlfMjkwOTE2

Above:
Image (1) January 9, 2007;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1974: Alexander Calder @ Federal Plaza

Alexander Calder
"Flamingo"
1974, modeled on a piece shown in 1973
Steel, painted
Federal Plaza
Dearborn Street, between Jackson Boulevard and Van Buren Street
Chicago, IL

Standing roughly 16 meters tall, the painted steel sculpture "Flamingo," 1974, by American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976), occupies Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Federal Plaza, sitting on the west side of Dearborn Street, between Jackson Boulevard and Van Buren Street.  Riveted, the piece relates in its method of fabrication to the ironwork of the city's civil engineering; but, its color and curvilinear form stand in high contrast to the surrounding modern architecture.

Above:
Image (1) September 20, 2006;
Image (2) October 27, 2007, Chicago Police mounted at anti-war protest in Federal Plaza.
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1967: Pablo Picasso @ Daley Plaza

Pablo Picasso
Untitled.
1967, modeled on a piece begun in 1965
COR-TEN steel, on stone base
Daley Plaza
Washington Boulevard, between Clark Street and Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL

Standing roughly 15 meters tall, the COR-TEN steel sculpture by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was commissioned in 1963, designed in 1965, and dedicated in 1967. Picasso is said never to have visited the city, or accepted payment for the artwork. See newspaper columnist Mike Royko's report from the sculpture's dedication on August 16, 1967: "Picasso and the Cultural Rebirth of Chicago"

Above:
Image (1) September 20, 2006;
Image (2) April 29, 2005, Critical Mass;
Image (3) April 29, 2005, Critical Mass;
Image (4) April 13, 2013, The Art Institute of Chicago's "Picasso and Chicago" promotional installation by Chicago Scenic Studios;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

1967: Henry Moore @ University of Chicago

Henry Moore
"Nuclear Energy"
1967, modeled on a piece begun in 1964
Bronze (cast) on stone base
University of Chicago
Ellis Avenue near 57th Street
Chicago, IL

Standing roughly 4 meters tall, the 1967 bronze sculpture "Nuclear Energy," conceived by British artist Henry Moore (1898–1986), commemorates the occasion of the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, which occurred on December 2, 1942. At the site, formerly containing the University of Chicago's Stagg Field, an experimental atomic pile, designed by Enrico Fermi, was hidden below ground during the 1940s. The location was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and declared a Chicago Landmark in 1971. The sculpture is today accessible via the public sidewalk on the east side of Ellis Avenue near 57th Street, within the University of Chicago campus. A cast from Moore's "Nuclear Energy" series is held in Hiroshima, Japan.

Above:
Image (1) June 13, 2011;
Image (2) June 13, 2011;
Image (3) August 20, 2006;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.