Presence of Mind: The Art Institute of Chicago

During my recent trip to Chicago, my friends Wende and David and I visited the Art Institute of Chicago. It was my first visit and I immediately fell in love.
When I was growing up, our family trips to Chicago Grandma's inevitably ended up with a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. I've always enjoyed that particular museum, but for some reason we never ventured further than that. (I'm guessing the parents wanted no part of 5 wild banshees screaming through an art gallery. They preferred us to be captivated by lots of button-pushing and a visit to the S & I coal mine!)

If you are visiting the Art Institute, be sure and check out Jackson and Millenium Parks first. There are some really cool sculptures that you can't miss. David described one of the sculptures as a "bean" and he was absolutely right. It's like a large, bean-shaped mirror... and totally captivating.

Oh, and I suppose I should insert some kind of disclaimer at this point. For someone who fancies herself an amateur photographer, the fact that there are few photos to accompany this blog show you just how lazy I really am... I didn't want to lug my large-and-in charge camera around Chicago, so the words will have to do.

A quick word about the performance artists on the front step of the AI. So cool! Although I couldn't help but enjoy the synchronized drumming of the 5-gallon bucket players, I found myself oddly mesmerized by a man dressed in a skin-tight tiger costume (go figure...) Anyway, he was a contortionist who ended up squeezing himself into the tiniest of boxes... as well as moving (on all fours) around the area like a real tiger. Oh yeah, I gave up a little $ just for pure entertainment purposes alone. He was great!

The exhibits inside were stunning. We wandered through an Asian exhibit that included great statues of Buddha and various other entities. We saw classic paintings by Renoir and Piccasso. We got "buzzed" intermittently for getting too close to the exhibits, but we really couldn't help ourselves. Through most of the rooms we played the "Best of Show" game. Each of us would pick our favorite painting, sculpture, etc. as the best of show. Always interesting to see what Wende and David would choose and why.

Probably one of my favorite areas in our visit was a photography exhibit by Sarah Hobbs
So creative and clever! I looked for a website for her work and didn't see anything. She's amazing. The series of photos featured all dealt with psychological themes (most of which I could totally relate...) I think the three of us agreed her work was really amazing.

Lastly, we rounded out our trip with a tour of the armor. Not sure what it is about weapons, but I found myself drawn to those that had a lot of flash (uh, jewels...) I also really liked the chain mail. I was glad we toured that exhibit. It was a lot of fun.

We probably didn't even scratch the surface on all there is to see and do at the AI, but we did our best. I hope to visit again soon... hopefully, this time, dragging my kids along. I think they would really enjoy it and I would love to take them on a tour of the city.

Meanwhile though, if you get a chance to visit Chicago, be sure and check out the AI. I promise, you won't be disappointed.