Two by Two
Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company. – Socrates
Be a Bird
Be a bird, who, halting in her flight on a limb too slight, feels it give way beneath her, yet sings, sings knowing she has wings. -Victor Hugo
Black or White
Today- a West Loop street art mural and a sculpture in front of the JR Thompson Center in the Loop. Both play with color, shape, form, space, line, and value- many of the elements of art. One is two dimensional, and the other, three dimensional. One is enclosed within a space, and the other lives in free air. Both are successful in showing planes and depth. One is on a slow, dirty street, and the other is in a heavily populated concrete jungle. How could you see one and not think of the other? Oh Chicago, you have so many inspirational things to show us! There is still so much left to explore…
So come, and slowly we will walk through green gardens and marvel at this strange and sweet world. -Sylvia Plath
Inside Out
I applied streaks and blobs of colors onto the canvas with a palette knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could… – Wassily Kandinsky
Sea Jelly Soiree
The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express. -Francis Bacon
Miniature Life
We were exploring the Lincoln Park Zoo just the other day and noticed some miniature plastic dinosaurs in the conservatory that reminded us of Banksy’s piece in the West Loop. It’s surprising to all of a sudden come across plastic toys in a conservatory, but also just as interesting when used in street art. They’re just small details, but in art, it’s the small details that make a piece that much more spectacular. The use of small components shows consideration of the whole, careful thought, and attention to detail.
I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room. – Ray Bradbury
Wicker Park Street Concert
Combine some brass instruments, drums, Wicker Park, Gumby and what do you get? An impromptu street concert for all to enjoy. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the music of Wicker Park. Enjoy. And since Gumby is one of those cartoons everyone knows and loves, we’ll stick with the cartoon theme and share a thought from Dr.Seuss.
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. -Dr. Seuss
Face Time
Just a small compilation of faces around Wicker Park for you- scratched, defaced, distorted, and still beautifully engaging.
Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. -Franz Kafka
Cartoon World
Wicker Park clearly has its fair share of street art, and we love discovering it and interacting with the work. Since the nature of this kind of work is so temporary, we enjoy capturing it and sharing it with you so we can all appreciate its beauty before it’s gone.
No human, nor any living thing, survives long under the eternal sky. The most beautiful women, the most learned men…all wither and die. All is temporary. The sky outlives everything. Even suffering. -Bowa Johar
Imitation
Another comparison for you: The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Lincoln Park Zoo, inanimate and alive, people and animals, indoor and outdoor. We hope you enjoy viewing art this way, because we surely do!
All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. -Eckhart Tolle
Downtown Sound
Last night we went to the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park to hear Head & the Heart and Iron & Wine. It was a perfect night for the concert with beautiful weather, a picnic, organic beer, and a bottle of wine! Every Monday through July 25th Millennium Park hosts Downtown Sound: New Music Mondays. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings we’ve had in the city. Go early, stake out your spot, and enjoy an evening in the park! You won’t regret it, we promise. Hey, maybe we’ll see you there next time!
Develop interest in life as you see it: in people, things, literature, music- the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. -Henry Miller
Creature Comparisons
An artist, or a piece of art, is expected to be compared to something else in the same field, but why not compare art to living things? From faces on a West Loop mural to monkeys lined up at the Lincoln Park Zoo and a street art mural in Wicker Park to zebra-like fashion, we like to take art out of its original world and into our everyday lives.
Why is it that our ideas of the animal–perhaps more than any other set of ideas–are the ones which enable us to frame and express ideas about human identity? -Steve Baker
River North Nights
In case you were worried, we occasionally take a break from blogging and enjoy ourselves around the city. Determined to explore all of the different neighborhoods, tonight we bring you River North. The rooftop bar at ZED 451 followed by a stop at Clark Street Ale House make for a good night! Anyone have any suggestions for our next night out?
I have drunken deep of joy, and I will taste no other wine tonight. – P.B. Shelley
Viva Chicago!
When you’re strolling around in the West Loop and you come across a mural like this, you just have to stop, strike a pose, and shout viva Chicago! We, of course, also like to document it and share it with you. Long live Chicago, our city of inspiration!
To live would be an awfully big adventure. -Peter Pan
From Playgrounds to Skylines
As you may have noticed, we are ALL about comparisons. We believe it makes you see certain objects in a new light and makes you take away something totally different. A jungle gym on a playground in Longview, TX and a sculpture at the Lincoln Park Zoo- two geometric structures with loads of repetition pair beautifully together. The repetition of similar shapes is one of the things that drew us to this comparison, but oh, how the contrast of the environments they live in can lend SO much more to the image!
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. -Vincent Van Gogh
Summer in the City
Nothing is better than sunshine, a patio, and a pitcher of margaritas on a hot Chicago afternoon. We found exactly what we needed on the patio of Big Star in Wicker Park this afternoon. It is quite the popular place, and you should definitely give it a try!
The art of gentleness with ourselves leads to being gentle with others. -Brennan Manning
Seeing Triple
More, more, more! Due to all of the positive response we keep receiving from our street art posts, we thought we’d post another! Exploring the Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhood, we came across this mural and thought it would be interesting to act out each one of the illustrations. Throwing yourself into someone else’s art will always give you a new perspective.
I am a part of all that I have seen. -Tennyson
Zombies in Chicago
We seem to be obsessed with street art these days, and Chicago makes for a great place to enjoy it. We have found this Zombie man a few times west of the city, in the West Loop and Wicker Park neighborhoods. Does anyone know the artist? We couldn’t help but go a little crazy when we saw him! Keep checking back for more street art and more people- who knows, maybe we’ll ask you to pose!
You are only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it. -Robin Williams
West Loop Walls, Round 2
Confirm. Remember when art asked more than buy me? Campbell’s Too Much Soup. Understand nothing profoundly. Shakepeare’s King Phycus. Blank Wall. Crush the infamous! …Just a little compilation of some street art messages, again in West Loop. Being the computer nerds and avid internet users that we are, the Confirm button is definitely one of our favorites!
I am an artist… I am here to live out loud. -Emile Zola
West Loop Walls
Street art appears to be all over the West Loop neighborhood in Chicago. As is the nature of the medium, we do not know the artists’ names (or else we’d give them credit!), but enjoyed seeing their work and wanted to pass it along to you. Call it graffiti, call it defacing a wall, call it obnoxious, obtrusive, dirty, trash…we call it art.
The unaware life is not worth living. -Socrates
Banksy in Chicago
The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. -Banksy
Colorful Life
Just strolling around Wicker Park- stopping for a sweet treat at Artemio’s bakery and drink at Handlebar Bar and Grill. Thought we’d share some of our perusing the city with you. For us, work is play and play is work.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
Eyes to See
Just a smattering of images from a recent breakfast outing to Anne Sather. Although we didn’t even realize at the time, all of these images are connected by eyes. Funny how sometimes you don’t see the repetition of something until it smacks you in the face.
She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and in her eyes. – Byron
Ingest and Imbibe
An artist must eat…and drink! A few pictures from our recent venture to The Southern in Wicker Park- an organic carrot juice cocktail, mac and cheese, fried green tomatoes, and a southern mess (of course!).
I have Social Disease. I have to go out every night. If I stay home one night I start spreading rumors to my dogs. -Andy Warhol
