AIC: Reinstallation of The American Windows [By Marc Chagall]

Left panels [music and painting]..

Center panels [literature and architecture]..

Right panels [theater and dance]..

Art Institute of Chicago [AIC]..
Reinstallation of The America Windows,
Originally created: 1975-77..
By Marc Chagall..
Commemorating the American Bicentennial in memory of Mayor Richard J. Daley..
Originally installed: May 15, 1977...
Reinstalled: Nov 1, 2010..

The marker reads..
At the end of World War - II, Marc Chagall sought new avenues for artistic experimentation and turned to the medium of stained glass, which allowed him to explore color on a monumental scale. Working with master stained glass maker Charles Marq, he executed 86 windows across Europe, Israel and the US. American Windows present an unusual secular theme in his oeuvre, merging symbols of American history, the Chicago skyline and the arts; reading from left to right, the panels represent music, painting, literature, architecture, theater and dance.

Details: Left panels [music and painting]..

Details: Left panels [music and painting]..

Details: Left panels [music and painting]

Details: Center panels [literature and architecture]..

Details: Center panels [literature and architecture]..

Details: Right panels [theater and dance]..

Details: Right panels [theater and dance]..

Details: Right panels [theater and dance]..

Chagall dedicated his work to Mayor Richard J. Daley, a great supporter of public art projects in the city, with whom he had worked in the city on The Four Seasons mosaic at Chase Tower Plaza [image below]..



For more.. click on the link..
Mosaic "Four Seasons" - by Marc Chagall.. at Exelon Plaza / Chase Tower Plaza..

Excerpt from the AIC website....
While members and visitors have loved America Windows for years, many may not realize how deeply their history is interwoven with the history of Chicago and its rich tradition of public art. The story begins in the early 1970s, when Chagall came to the city for work related to his mosaic installed outside Chase Tower, The Four Seasons. In response to the city’s enthusiasm for his work and the Art Institute’s great support, the artist offered to create a set of stained-glass windows for the museum. Over the course of three years, plans were clarified, and in the end, Chagall determined that the windows would commemorate America’s bicentennial. The resulting six-panel work celebrates the country as a place of cultural and religious freedom, detailing the arts of music, painting, literature, theater, and dance. Because of his admiration for Chicago and its strong commitment to public art during the 1960s and 1970s, Chagall chose to dedicate the work to Mayor Richard J. Daley, a great supporter of public art projects. The windows were presented with much fanfare at a formal unveiling, hosted by the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute, on May 15, 1977...

The marker reads,
The roots of Marc Chagall's America Windows could rightly be traced to 1967 - the year Pablo Picasso's monumental sculpture in Chicago's civic center [now called the Richard J. Daley Center] was unveiled. Insightfully, Mayor Richard J. Daley dedicated the sculpture with the owrds, "What is strange to us today will be familiar tomorrow." Today Chicago's great collection of public art is one of the defining characteristics of the city...
Continue reading.. click here..

Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago - Ed McCullough..

Meridian VIII..
Commissioned outdoor stainless steel piece for Dominican University, River Forest, IL..
Installed: 2006..


Meridian VII..
Commissioned outdoor stainless steel piece by Chicago Public Art Program for Chicago Police HQ Building, 35th Street and Michigan Ave..
Installed: 2002.



Continuing with my Series on Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago..
Today I met Ed McCullough..
Before I could meet him, the dismal Murphy's Law [that anything that can go wrong, does go wrong] was at full play.. The weather was dark and gloomy with intermittent showers and I was almost about to cancel our meeting, when a slight sliver of sunshine made me change my decision. But then my GPS would not recognize the address [I am very poor with directions, and am helpless without GPS]. Finally it did, but then, the traffic was woefully slow, ushered in by rain combined with gapers delay, with a four car accident on I-90. To top it, I took a few wrong turns [Yeah, despite the GPS!].. After much delay, I finally did reach Dominican University, where I was to meet the artist/sculptor Ed McCullough. I was meeting Ed for the first time and I was already very late. But once I was there, the Ed-Effect dispelled all the Murphy's Law, and all the problems were history.

The very courteous and jovial Ed forgave all my delays, and then, began a very interesting discussion on the public art scene of Chicago and sculptures in general. I have to say that the sculpture community of Chicago is a very friendly community, where each one seems to know each-other. Ed talked very fondly of the contributions of sculptors like Richard Hunt, Preston Jackson, Terrence Karpowicz, Christine Rojek, Adrian Calderon and many others, who endeavor to enrich Chicago sculpture community not only through their art, but also through their willingness to help others in the community..


Meridian VIII


Meridian VII

Ed McCullough specializes in large-scale outdoor sculptures. His works is mostly abstract, and have a lot of arcs and circles. In his words; They stake out boundaries and make connections with what is not there - the open spaces in and around the places people gather.

Worth noting is that Ed McCullough, served in US Navy [1955-59], submarine duty, North Atlantic. He later earned MA degree in art. He has taught at many places and currently teaches at Columbia College, Chicago.

I have seen two of Ed's works, both are part of his Meridian series [Meridian VII and Meridian VIII, images above]. He is currently working on the Meridian IX, a State of Illinois commission that is scheduled for installation in the Spring of 2011 at Kankakee Community College, in Kankakee, Illinois..

For more.. click on the link..
# Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago..
# Meridian VIII..
# Meridian VII..

Meridian VIII [By Ed McCullough]

Meridian VIII
By Ed McCullough..
Installed: 2006..
Commissioned by Dominican University, River Forest, IL..

Meridian VII [By Ed McCullough]

Meridian VII..
By Ed McCullough..
Installed: 2002
Commissioned by Chicago Public Art Program for Chicago Police HQ Building, 35th Street and Michigan Ave..

Bronzeville [ Haymarket Riot Monument - by John Gelert]

Haymarket Riot Monument..
by John Gelert..
Location: Courtyard of Chicago Police Training Center..
1300 W Jackson Blvd..
At the base is the inscription..
In the name of the people of Illinois I command peace...

University of Chicago Campus [Fountain of Time - by Lorado Taft]

Fountain of Time...
Sculptor: Lorado Taft ...
Reflecting pool: Howard Van Doren Shaw
Completed: 1922
Description: approx. 127 feet length ..
Made with hollow-cast concrete, reinforced with steel and incorporated pebbles from the Potomac River. This composite material was an innovation at the time ..
Location: Western edge of the Midway Plaisance in the Washington Park ..
Washington Park is registered in the National Register of Historic Places, and this sculpture is a contributing structure in this achievement ..

Commissioned by the B.F.Ferguson Monument Fund, to commemorate the first 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain, resulting from the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 ...

Inspired by Henry Austin Dobson's poem, "Paradox of Time" ..
"Time goes, you say?
Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go"..











The sculpture extends from north to south..
Below is a break-up from north-end to the south-end..

North End..


North Center..


Center..


Center..


Center..


Center..


South Center..


South End..


Here's Father Time..
overlooking at the people as they go by, through different stages of life..




The maestro Lorado Taft himself..



My all-time favourite sculptural piece in Chicago.. It evokes so many feelings. Sometimes I find it to be flowing like a lyrical poem with it's ups and downs and sometimes I am caught in it's austere assessment of life, how a carefree childhood on father's shoulders end in old-age of pain and dementia. The details are well thought of and powerfully executed and the overall scale is simply awe-inspiring..A beautiful rendition of arguably a philosophical take on life, "Time Stays, We Go", as 100 figures pass before Father Time..

For more.. [click on the link]..
Lorado Taft..
Public Art in Universities of Chicago..
B.F.Ferguson Monument Fund..