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Mosaicing Along
Imagine walking down a busy street in downtown Chicago and
happening upon a large wall of unusual graffiti. Wait a minute, that's not
the work of an urban street artist, that's The Four Seasons mosaic
by Marc Chagall!
It's true: you don't have to visit an art museum to discover some inspiring
works of art around the City of Chicago. Even though we were on our way to
experience the latest exhibit at the Art Institute, Seurat and the Making
of La
Grande Jatte, My 22-year-old nephew (and new Chicago tour guide) briefly
led us off of Monroe Street over to Dearborn to see the mosaic, signed by the
artist in 1972.
Nicknamed "the boxcar mosaic," the freestanding outdoor sculpture
is 70 feet long, 14 feet high, and 10 feet wide, with the mural wrapping around
all four sides. Upon closer inspection, it was amazing to see how the sharp
protruding glass and stone tiles worked in harmony to create such a fine work
of art.
 What
did it mean? According to an article by Hal
Higdon (Starting with Picasso), "Catering to his audience,
Chagall had pictured scenes of Chicago while borrowing images from his previous
paintings. The mosaic contains thousands of tiny inlaid chips and over 250
colors. ... Chagall continued to modify his mosaic after it arrived in Chicago,
even adding bits of Chicago brick."
After experiencing the Chagall mosaic up close and personal, I've decided
that I'm really beginning to dig mosaic art. I mean, just imagine the possibilities
of arranging colorful tiles and broken glass on your bathroom walls. Well,
maybe skip the broken glass part... bare feet and all.
Other outdoor sculptures you can see in the City of Chicago include those
done by Picasso, Miro, Dubuffet, and Calder. Oh, and don't forget to stop by
Millennium Park (next to the Art Institute) to see the Kapoor elliptical stainless
steel sculpture Cloud Gate, and many other modern works of art. •
On the Web
More about mosaics, the artist Marc Chagall, The Four Seasons (including
detailed images), and other outdoor sculptures in Chicago can be found at these
resources:
How to Mosaic
Resources
About.com's
Chicago Sculptures
Art Institute
Chicago's Millennium
Park
Starting with
Picasso
Images
of The Four Seasons
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