The last one - the very last one! (unless you count the granite fountain in back of the Art Institute, which I will check periodically, since I go there every month) I have been at this since last August, I think. And unless I hear that the neon is working in the police station. In 18 years, I have never seen The Fountain of Time with a drop of water, so I have given up on that.
This one, called "Skyspace", and not unique in the States, but the only free-standing
one, was created by James Turrell. He has several of these about the U. S. It is in the heart of UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) at the corner of Halsted and Roosevelt, the southwest corner. And if a movie sound man ever wanted to record traffic sounds of city life, this is the place. Peaceful, it is not.
And that's too bad, for the building itself could lend itself to serenity and quiet. But not here. The pictures better describe this elliptical building better than I can. Supposedly "it acts as an observatory for changes in the colors of the sky that he [Turrell] orchestrates in the hours after dusk and hour before dawn. The effort stands alone in public art in Chicago." Per Alan Artner, art critic of the Chicago Tribune.
Well, I was there last nite, April 17th, and I observed no changes. Waited around from 7:30 to 8:00. Nada. But I figure someone would have to reset this all the time, taking into account the changing times for dawn and sunset, and Daylight Saving Time. It was a wonderful space, but the traffic zooming by just ruins it, for me. Halsted and Roosevelt are major arteries in Chicago and this corner is very busy.
I wonder why they (UIC) sited it there. Lots of benches to sit on for reflection and to look up at the sky through the oval hole in the ceiling. And a majestic view of the city to the northeast, where the skyline is fabulous.
Some final words about this 8 1/2 month project:
First of all, I enjoyed in immensely. Finding all these places was in itself a kick. So many I never knew were there, or had little appreciation for, until I actually came face to face with them. As in The Bowman and The Spearman, or Cloud Gate, or Buckingham Fountain, and even "I WIl", that piece at Cannon Drive and Fullerton that I had passed for decades.
The one that hit me between the eyes, so to speak, and that I will long remember, was "Radiant One'. I purely loved it. I guess my favorite is still "Fountain of Time"; it is so monumental, and evocative of human suffering and joy. It speaks to me, as all good art should do to an observer. Maybe not every observer, every time, as art appeals differently to each person, but at least to one human, once.
My truly detested one was "Reading Cones". I could rave on about how much I disliked it, but you should make your own judgment. Maybe you will be the one it speaks to.
So go out and find these for yourself. They're worth the effort.
I should also note that I will be off for a while, as traveler that I am, in a few weeks I will be in France for 10 days. Lyon and a famous Le Corbusier abbey just outside it.
La Tourette. And when I return, gardening season will be upon me hard.
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