Today I went to the 911 Emergency Communications Center on W. Madison to see Nacy Dwyer's piece, 911 Oasis, three dimensional granite letters that read, "No man is an island entire of itself." While I was there I also saw Carolyn Ottmers' Intersect, large aluminum leaves with the grid of Chicago on one side and the veins of a leaf on the other. When you come up to these works from the sidewalk, you're separated from the courtyard that they're in by a tall metal fence. You have to walk into the building and back out into the courtyard to be among the art.
As I was walking from my L stop to the 911 center, I saw a lot of street art. Nothing big and spectacular, but some stencils on the sidewalk and a lot of stickers. I thought it was interesting that the real art is hard to get to but the street art is in your face, under your feet, on street signs.
The works by Dwyer and Ottmers, large scale and unexpected, demand your gaze. But, even though they're unexpected they aren't disruptive. They blend into their space. Ottmers' leaves are pushed to the edges of the courtyard and into the gardens. Dwyer's piece winds around a planter and the letters are short enough to be benches. These works don't disrupt the courtyard, they beautify it. Asthetically, these two works of public art share something in common with street art. They are attention grabbing in their imagery. Dwyer's granite words are even reminiscent of tagging.
Later this week, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to one of the Banksy's works in Chicago (if it's still there) and consider how it fits into the idea of public art.
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