chicago...just one more thing

Chicago is somewhat of a public art mecca. Works by Picasso, Chagall, Miro, and Calder ornament the Loop, making the streets an urban art museum for anyone to enjoy.

We were downtown, Todd had some work to do so he found a place in the Palmer House lobby to do what he needed to do, and I set out with my notes and good friend Siri to find the public art works by these famous artists.

The Picasso, as it is known, is an untitled sculpture that some liken to an insect or baboon. Pablo Picasso gifted the sculpture to the people of Chicago in 1967, without ever explaining what it was intended to represent. Today, it’s one of the city’s most famous and iconic public artworks. (Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington)

The Four Seasons by Marc Chagall. This mosaic of thousands of inlaid chips was created in Chagall’s studio in France, and installed in Chicago. It portrays the four seasons through six Chicago scenes. The Chase Tower Plaza was under construction and fenced off from public access so I had to take photos from behind the fence. (Chase Tower Plaza, 10 S. Dearborn St).

Joan Miró’s mixed media sculpture stands approximately 40-feet tall and is composed of steel, wire mesh, concrete, bronze, and ceramic tile. It’s a celestially inspired work, representing a female figure with a moon at her center and a star above her head. At the same time, her bell-shaped base stresses her closeness to the earth. (Brunswick Building Plaza, 69 W. Washington St.)

Alexander Calder’s 53-foot-tall, bright red Flamingo…you can’t miss it! Its curved lines contrast dramatically with the steel and glass Mies van der Rohe buildings that surround it. It’s a piece of art that you can walk under and around it. (Federal Plaza, 50 W. Adams St.)

All of these masterpieces are withing walking distance of one another. It was like strolling through an outdoor museum.