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August 17, 2004
Riding Around America: Chicago
I've spent two full days in Chicago now and have seen a few interesting things. Sunday evening after the baseball game I went downtown to the new Millenium Park which just opened in July. The Frank Gehry designed bandshell is somewhat forgettable since it looks like all his other buildings. There are two other pieces of art in the park that captured my interest however. The first consists of two 50-foot tall blocks with a shallow pool between them. One one side of each block, a videoboard displays photographs of everyday people. I saw the sculpture, designed by Jaume Plensa, at night, and kids were playing in the pool and having a great time. THe pool is only about an inch deep which gives the impression that people walking in it are walking on top of the water. The changing video boards providing an interesting backdrop and light up the entire area. I stood watching the sculpture for about 15 minutes and eventually a spout of water shot from the mouth of the people on the screens, much to the delight of the children below who danced around in the spray.
Equally attractive is the large, smooth, unnamed steel sculpture which has been dubbed "jelly bean" by visitors, for good reason. The surface is like a mirror, and it reflects the skyline beautifully. Crowds of people were gathered around the sculpture, posing and photographing themselves and others in the reflection.
A much smaller display of family photographs is displayed off to the side of the park. A photographer (whose name escapes me right now) travelled the world taking photographs of families. Each photo is accompanied by a short description and the exhibit as a whole is fascinating.
Yesterday morning I went up to the Chicago Historical Society which had several interesting exhibits. In the main gallery was an exhibit about Leopold & Loeb, two criminals who kidnapped and murdered a boy named Bobby Franks. I will write a little bit more about the exhibit later (I'm running out of batteries), which features the work of my favorite songwriter Billy Corgan. Another interesting exhibit is "Teen Chicago", which shows what the lives of teenagers have been like throughout the 20th century.
Yesterday evening I took the Green Line train out to Oak Park and looked at a few Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings, including Unity Temple, whose dreary gray concrete exterior was unspectacular.
Today I'm taking an architectural tour, visiting the Science and Industry Museum, and seeing a White Sox game if the weather holds. I'd write more but I'm losing battery power and need to get going. More details and photos will be posted tomorrow morning before I catch the westbound Empire Builder to Minneapolis.
Posted on August 17, 2004 at 8:33 AM