Gold Coast Art Fair. Chicago.

The Gold Coast Art Fair annually attracts approximately 450 juried artists and 350,000 visitors from places all around the world. This is the fair's 53rd year of wowing Chicago and helping bring artist to the local communities. With good food, great entertainment, and beautiful art this Sunday couldn't have gotten any better.







Before I close out the night, add some culture to your night... Cuban Culture that is.
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Busy Nights at the Pier. Chicago.

Tonight I took a walk down to Navy Pier. There was loud music, tourist boats coming in and going out, elephant ears being eaten, and entertainment left and right. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday night. Since 1995, Navy Pier and all of it's 50 acres of parks, promenades, gardens, shops, eateries and attractions have been bringing people in from all over the state. To end the night was a wonderful display of fireworks to the beats of radio station B96. The fireworks went to the b beat of songs such as Day N' Night, Love Story, 1901, and other hits of today.

Out Door Art. Chicago.

These outdoor statues are by far not the best ones the city has to offer. They were just ones I came across on my walk today.



Batcolumn, 1977
This piece of painted Cor-Ten steel wryly gives the American obsession with sports a calling out. Even though this is right outside my front door, it seems to be missed placed. This is Claes Oldenburg only sculpture of an everyday object placed in a open-work form when it obviously seems as it needs to be places closer to Wrigleyville.


The Bowman and the Spearman, 1928
These sculptures intended to commemorate the tribes that once lived on Illinois prairies. Their actions conveyed entirely through their bodies and toned mussels. My favorite part about these facing statues is how the artist left the hands empty with only the strained arm gesture to force viewer to build a weapon of imagination.


Clarence, 1927
The four great sea horses symbolize the states that border on Lake Michigan. The fountain is twice the size as the one it was modeled after in the gardens of Versailles.



Tin Man, 1995
The Tin Man sculpture stands at the northeast corner of the Oz Park in Lincoln Park. The coolest part about this statue is that it is made from old automobile parts. The plaque below the statue reads "The Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum welcomes you to Oz Park."

Late Nights. Chicago.

I took these pictures about 3 days ago but my homeless idea didn't work out to plan today. I used a long shutter speed and smaller apertures. These pictures were taken between twilight and late night. I walked from Madison Street to Wacker Drive. Did you know that Wacker Drive had a "cameo" credits in the films The Blues Brothers, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and Wanted. While Madison Street is a major east-west street, Madison also serves as the north-south dividing line for Chicago's street numbering system, while State Street serves as the east-west line. Not as exciting as Wacker Drive, but still lovely to walk down at night.

New Beginnings (According to Google, flowers are defined as new beginnings). Chicago.

So today we started off simple. The gardens in Chicago are a huge tourist spot and one of the most beautiful parts of the area. Even though the weather has cooled down, the flowers are still bright and vibrant colors. The Botanic Garden sees approximately 900,000 visitors each year. That is so many people but my question is how did they get that number? Is there someone standing by the post counting the heads that walk in and out?
Since 1984, Garden curators and scientists have made plant collecting trips to all around the world from South Korea to our local backyards of southern Illinois. It was such a wonderful walk with bright colors and roaming smells from all over.