“Flight Patterns” a public art project funded through the 23rd Ward Menu Program, administered by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The first thing I noticed about the architecture when I did my first site visit was
it tapered on both ends, very much giving the impression of a launching spot, a place where cars zip in and out of thousands of times a day. That’s my biggest audience- people driving by these walls for an average amount of time at less than three seconds. How could I make a time based 2D work? I had an advantage with the archways under the bridge. I could treat them as the slots of a zoetrope, and see if it would be possible to animate a Cooper’s Hawk to fly through the tunnel with you. It ended up working out in the end, but not without the hard work of several people I was lucky enough to hire to help me out. I had my friend Josue Pellot and his new fabrication LLC, 408 Fabrication, managing the project on-site for those times I couldn’t be there. I’m forever grateful for him and his crew’s work.
Thanks to Alderman Silvan Tabares, who not only presented this opportunity to me, but opened the door for me to hire a group of my painting students from my After School Matters arts program, Contemporary Painting Studio. In it’s 17th year, Contemporary Painting Studio is a paid apprenticeship where teens come together after school to create paintings for a culminating art event at the end of the program. Programs run in 6 week bursts three times a year, once each semester and a summer program, which features extra hours and extra pay, a perfect way for a teen to get real life job experience and explore the world of contemporary art through field trips, discussions and making paintings.
The timing was perfect, our summer program was ending at the exact same time the mural prep began. I offered the entire class of 15 the chance to earn 21 dollars an hour for 25 hours each. A core of 8 students were able to manage the schedule, and they began custom mixing over 50 colors needed for the mural, a total of over 150 32oz containers of acrylic paint.
The most special part of having my students with me during this process was having them in my studio building everyday. Two artists that share my floor and saw the young artists began leaving their doors open for them to explore. My next post will be devoted to that.