Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Eye and Cardinal [By Tony Tasset]





Eye and Cardinal ..
By Chicago artist, Tony Tasset..
Temporary Exhibit: From July to October, 2010..
Location: Pritzker Park, at the corner of State and Van Buren.
There's also a banner installation of "Cardinal", along the State Street..

Hmmm, I'm not too sure about my reaction..
I think I will like it, or maybe I already like it..
Although I would understand when some find it creepy and an eye-sore.. But I think Tony Tasset makes some fun, amusing sculptures. This odd eyeball, provides a good break from the banal, mundane walk on the streets. It sure is an attention grabber. One cannot just pass-by without noticing. It will definitely make the eye-balls roll! Another spot for family-portraits and self-portraits..
And what I like the most is that it's by a Chicago artist!




The marker reads..
Eye and Cardinal is funded by Chicago Loop Alliance, which is the service provider to the State Street Special Service Area. The SSA funds landscapes, cleaning, infrastructure maintenance, holiday decoration and marketing of State Street..

Some days back, I saw it's insallation in progress. The 30-foot tall, giant eyeball made of fiberglass and steel and modeled after his own eyes..












Tony Tasset's other installation I've seen is the "Blob Monster" at Artropolis, 2010.. click here..



Monday, June 28, 2010

Loop: Peacock Clock





C.D. Peacock Clock..
Location: State and Monroe..





Part of the charm of this Peacock Clock is other peacock embellishments in the vicinity, like in revolving door of the C.D.Peacock store and the jewelery repair storefront decorations.. click here..





Other notable clocks..
# Father Time at Jewelers Building..
# The Great Clock at Marshall Field's..
# CBOT Clocks..
# The Exelon Plaza Clock..

Loop: Peacock Door at the C.D.Peacock Jewelery Store at the Palmer House Hotel..









Peacock Doors..
The C.D. Peacock jewelry store at the Palmer House Hotel's northwest corner is decorated with brass peacocks on the revolving door covers..











Also check out the Peacock Clock.. click here..

Fountain at IIT Campus..





Fountain at IIT Campus..

Independence Square Fountain / Fourth of July Fountain





Independence Square Fountain / Fourth of July Fountain..
Installed: 1902..
Sculptor: Charles J. Mulligan..
Location: Intersection of Douglas and Independence Boulevards...
This was once a fountain..
The 15-foot high granite pedestal, is of the shape of the Liberty Bell. On top is four bronze figure of children. celebrating the Fourth of July.
The work was dedicated on July 4, 1902..











Jacques Marquette Memorial [By Hermon Atkins MacNeil]





Jaques Marquette Memorial..
By Hermon Atkins MacNeil..
1926
Funded by the B.F.Ferguson Monument Fund..
The words etched are..
This memorial erected by the trustees of the B.F.Ferguson Monument Fund to commemorate the discoveries and sacrifieces of the missionary Pere Marquette.
Dedicated MCMXXVI..








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Jaques Marquette [1637-1675] , the Jesuit expolorer-priest is shown here with Louis Joliet [1645 - 1700] and an Algonquin Indian.
The book, "A Guide to Chicago's Public Art", by Ira J. Bach, and Mary Lackritz Gray, has some further information on this memorial..
An excerpt..
The three are depicted at the moment in the summer of 1673, when the French man, guided along the ancient Indian portage that linked the Des Plaines River with the South Branch of the Chicago river, recongized that a canal at this point would link the entire Great Lakes system with the Mississippi watershed . Today the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, south of this point, makes that connection..

For more on.. [click on the link]..
B.F.Ferguson Monument Fund..
Also by Hermon Atkins MacNeil..
# Hermon Atkins MacNeil - The Sun Vow [AIC]..
# Hermon Atkins MacNeil - The Moqui Runner [AIC]..
# Herman Atkins MacNeil - bronzes [Marquette building]..
# Hermon Atkins MacNeil - [Relief] Cook County Bldg...

Sunday, June 27, 2010

"The Lakeside Press" pressmark..





Lakeside Press pressmark..
As a part of my endeavour to document the Native American representation in Art scene in Chicago.. I saw this madallian, on the Lakeside Press building, which piqued my interest.. It had the head of a Native American chief set against the Fort Dearborn blockhouse..
Some Google search led to some information..
An excerpt from the Lakeside Classic Books.com.. click here..
The idea for RR Donnelley "The Lakeside Press" pressmark came from the exterior of one of its early plants -- the Lakeside Press Building at Plymouth Court and Polk Street in Chicago. In 1897 Howard Van Doren Shaw, the building's architect, decided to enhance the appearance of the south wall. The company commissioned Joseph C. Leyendecker, a young Chicago artist, to design an image that Shaw envisioned: the head of a Native American chief set against the Fort Dearborn blockhouse, which was originally located along the Lake Michigan shoreline, not far from RR Donnelley "The Lakeside Press" printing plant. His design was transformed into terra-cotta shields for the building and, shortly thereafter, was adopted as RR Donnelley "The Lakeside Press" pressmark because it associated the company's progress with the frontier spirit of early American life...

However, this distinctive Indianhead artwork, an Indian chief's profile, is no longer part of the company's logo or visual identity..



Location: Lakeside Press Building..
731 S. Plymouth Court..
Built: 1897
Architect: Howard Van Doren Shaw..
Its now a college dormitory..
In 1993 Columbia College acquired the building as its first residence hall. It currently houses over 300 students.
For more on the building.. click here..

Thursday, June 24, 2010

AIC: Bust of a Youth [By Francesco Mochi]





Bust of a Youth [Saint John the Baptist?]
By Francesco Mochi [Italian 1580-1654]
1630/40
Marble on varigated black marble socle..
The marker reads..
One of the most individual sculptors of his age, Francesco Mochi possessed an astounding technical prowess. the sharp turn of the youth's head, his distant gaze and his parted lips are all characteristics of the immediacy of Baroque sculpture, and his vaguely classical dress suggests a historicizing context. This work may have been conceived as a portrait, but it was more likely to represent the youthful Saint John the Baptist. It's scale suggests that it was intended as an object for private devotion..








For more on.. [click on the link]..
The Art Institute of Chicago...