Photography and zoos create the illusion of a kinship between species, allowing affective (if one-sided) relationships to thrive. Under these conditions, we can say that we “love” lions—something a human would never say if meeting a lion face-to-face in the natural world!
Green heron
Man with umbrella
I like umbrellas because they create intimacy. There is nothing like having a roof over one’s head, however temporary. As for sharing an umbrella with someone else, that is one of my favorite things. This photograph was taken about a year ago in front of Neiman’s.
Mystery No.592
What is a landscape without mystery? If there is an explanation for this massive archaic wall, this door to the unknown, I don’t want to know. I’m perfectly happy making up my own stories about it and being creeped out. (Yet doesn’t it seem like it could be very Important?)
Rally at 5
The Flamingo turned a fantastic color during a rally Wednesday. It was great weather for a protest, mild and clear. The rally began in the afternoon, my old office window rattling from all the noise. It was still going on as commuters began pouring into the streets at 5. The rally was in support of…
The Old Clark-Adams
The Clark-Adams is an old, somewhat down-at-the-heels skyscraper surrounded on all sides by more famous buildings. On one side is the Rookery, on the other the gloriously ornate Continental Bank Building. The modernist Post Office by Mies van der Rohe is across the way. But the Clark-Adams is very much worth looking at, channeling the…
Kiki’s Citroen
Every once in a while, Celia enjoys a good French meal. At Kiki’s the proprietor practices an old-school approach to product placement, his hook being a red vintage Citroën.
Crowded river scene
The Brown Line trains are running again now that repairs to the Wells Street Bridge have been completed. It was quite a project! When I took the train north across the bridge yesterday evening, the river was still crowded with repair barges and equipment. A tour boat plied the waters, carrying its passengers toward an…
Recreation Drive
Sometimes the only thing separating a jaded Chicagoan from nirvana is a rusty guardrail. How many times had I looked at this sign without seeing? Finally, one fateful day, responding to its call, I discovered the glories of Waveland Park, which lies at the end of Recreation Drive. This large old lakeside park boasts tennis…
Hancock Plaza
It’s hard to imagine the Hancock Building without this wonderful plaza—but so it was for many decades. Yes, the building has always had a sunken plaza, but the first one was entirely inaccessible from the street and exuded a deadening air of tranquility. In winters, it became a skating rink, perhaps in imitation of Rockefeller…
New sculpture strategy
I’ve been seeing a lot more sculpture lately, thanks to several initiatives that have been bringing more contemporary art to the lakefront and parks. The Grandmother’s Garden in Lincoln Park alone has eight or ten new sculptures, including (above) ‘Narrow Horse,’ by Jozef Sumichrast, and Christine Rojek‘s ‘Cross-Pollination.’ What I like best about the new…
Drawn together
Going the same general direction, in their own separate ways, they wait.
