Holiday Images In Chicago--A Saturday Photo-Journal

Tonight I am taking a small holiday from writing, in order to share some photographs I shot a few weeks ago, on the day after Thanksgiving as we joined the crowds in downtown Chicago.

It feels right for me to think back on that wonderful day, to get into a Holiday spirit.

It's great fun to be in the city, especially with friends and loved ones.  That day, Mark and Jillian and I formed an invincible trio. 

We blended into the Black Friday crowds, walked to the Art Institute, had dinner together, and explored the Chicago Cultural Center (which I'll highlight in an upcoming journal entry).  We finished the evening at the Goodman Theater, with "Memphis".

I hope my visitors will enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Macy's, formerly Marshall Fields on State Street

A Sidewalk Puppet Theater regularly seen on the North Side

"GO DO GOOD"

Mark, Jillian and 'A Christmas Story'

The "L" and shopping crowds

Jillian, Mark, and the Wreathing of the Art Institute Lions

Promoting the Friday Night Holiday Concerts at Cloud Gate ("The Bean")--Windy City Performing Arts had a show on December 9th

The enormous human-face light mosaic in Millenium park

Ice Skating in the Park

The Goodman Theater, where "Memphis" played, taken a few hours before showtime

The Lions of the Chicago Art Institute

For us, it will be a leisurely "Black Friday" in the city.  This afternoon, a stroll through downtown to take advantage of sunny and pleasantly mild weather.  

Along the way we'll visit the Art Institute of Chicago, to see the the famous two lions in their newly-donned holiday garb.  Tonight: the Tony-winning Broadway Musical "Memphis"!  Come back this weekend for reviews of this show, and of the new film "The Descendants".

Read on for more about the lions, and their artist, Edward L. Kemeys.


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Two of the undisputed landmarks of the City of Chicago are the sculptured bronze lions that stand guard on either side of the main entrance at the Art Institute.  They are a favorite photographic subject of tourists, and delight children of all ages who visit the Museum for their first time, or  their hundredth.  The lions also serve as unofficial mascots for the Chicago professional sports teams when they make the championships, and can be seen wearing Chicago Bears or Blackhawks helmets in support. 


Today, the Holiday season becomes official with the ceremonial "wreathing of the lions":



Less well-known to Chicagoans is the sculptor who carved these lions, Edward Kemeys (1843-1907).  Kemeys was born in Savannah Georgia, and studied art in New York and Paris.  As a boy  he delighted in his visits to the prairies of Illinois, and marveled at the animals he observed at New York's Central Park Zoo.  He became famous for his uniquely Western style of art, and for his sculptures of animals. The bronze lions, completed in 1893, are his most famous.

Kemeys unofficially named the lions: the south lion is "stands in an attitude of defiance," and the north lion is "on the prowl."

South Lion: "Stands in an Attitide of Defiance"

North Lion: "On the Prowl"



Among Kemeys' other works, his "Panther and Cubs" can be found outside of the Metropolitan Museum in New York seen below).  There is also a collection of Work at The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Goodbye to Italy...Hello Reality

I am back home from a transforming ten days in Italy.

Just now I finished watching "Roman Holiday", with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck having a breezy fling in Italy's Capital City...and sharing a tearful goodbye.  It perfectly captured the heartbreak of leaving a beautiful, historic country of many contrasts.

Today we shopped for the kinds of food we enjoyed regularly in places like Rome, Sienna, Volterre, the Cinque Terre, and Florence.  I made sandwiches from flat bread, tomato, arugula, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, fresh basil, and olive oil.  I washed it down with "frizzante", or gently sparkling water....here, I could find only Pellegrino...but it was fine.

After being filled with awe at the incredible architecture of the Renaissance cathedrals, the ancient stone Forum and Colosseum, and one incredible painting after another, in a place where the doors of restaurants opening in back alleys can be adorned with images by Michelangelo, and where exquisite shops and restaurants pop up on dusty streets that look like back alleys, it hit me hard when we got back to Chicago's O'Hare airport.  In spite of the jingoistic attempts, by video, to portray the United States as the sentimental amusement park of the world, the first image travelers saw upon entering the customs area at O'hare were dingy bare walls, flat surfaces, and harsh lighting.  Welcome to Chicago.  Welcome to the U.S.

Along with the latest film reviews and current events, I will devote the month of August in this journal to sharing stories and original photos of our travels: The people we met; the local customs, from the hotels to the way food is served; the way history suddenly felt alive to me for the first time; the humor of our tour group; the unexpected delays and annoyances; the terrain as well as the layout of the streets, and the beauty and neglect of the buildings...and yes, even the dogs.

Some Favorite Paintings at the Art Institute

If any of you make it to Chicago, we would be proud to have you as our guest to the Art Institute.  As a follow-up to yesterday's photo album of a Chicago Sunday afternoon, here's a look at a few paintings in the Art Institute's collection that captured my imagination, and inspired me to better creative effort.

There is one gallery on the top (third) floor, "European Modern Art, 1900-1950".  These include some of the Impressionists, the Cubists, and Surrealists, artists like Picasso, Dali, Magritte, and others less familiar to me.  I can't wait to keep on as a student of this period, the paintings of which I love on a basic level, which give me a feeling of pleasure and balance.  


As with any form of art, knowing more about it, its construction, its intent, its place in history, can explain why I feel so happy in the company of these artists in this magical and remote gallery of the Art Institute.

FRANZ MARC, "The Bewitched Mill", 1913

A quote next to the painting reads: "Is there a more mysterious idea than to imagine how nature is reflected in the eyes of animals?" Is there a more perfect reason for me to connect with this work?  Notice the deer drinking and a variety of birds. 

GEORGES BRAQUES, "The Little Harbor in Normandy," 1909

I am less familiar with Braque than with Picasso, even though they worked closely together and together established the Cubist style.  I like his work, and this one is especially interesting to me.

PABLO PICASSO, "The Old Guitarist", 1903-04

The Art Institute has a huge collection of Picasso, including a miniature rendering of his famous sculpture in Daley Plaza.  This is a wonderful portrait of a homeless man from Picasso's "blue period".

SALVADOR DALI, "Inventions of the Monsters", 1937

Dali fascinates me with his extremely clear images, that sometimes appear to be melting or bending. His subjects often are brightly lit with long shadows that emphasize their desolated isolation. An unnatural combination of objects and parts of the human anatomy are startling. The pictures always seem to be on the verge of burning. Here is Dali's mysterious interpretation of impending war: the artist and his wife are seated at the table on the left.

RENE MAGRITTE, "Time Transfixed", 1938

This is the painting that inspired me to visit the wonderful third floor gallery. I enjoy the clarity of images that are placed together incongruously, violating the rules of space.  Magritte wanted to "stab" the viewer with the train. 

JOAN MIRO, "Personages With Star", 1933

One of a large collection of Miro, who I find playful..like a child's rendering of Dali.

In later journal entries, I will also offer some favorites by Paul Klee, Juan Gris, and many others...  While my quest for reinvention may not include taking up the brush myself, you never know how enthusiasm, borne of a love of any art form, may manifest itself! For now, I will try to paint with words, and learn enough to teach others some day, perhaps.