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Side Quest - Chicago

While we've spent a lot of time this year working on the Akron almost-mansion, I don't want people to get the impression that's the only thing we do. Though it's maybe not reflected all the time in this blog, my wife and I have interests that extend beyond removing wallpaper, wandering around big box home improvement stores, and talking with contractors. Music and art remain interests of ours and we're quite happy to travel either when we can. A few weeks ago we went to Chicago and got to enjoy both.

My wife is the biggest Patti Smith fan I know, yet she'd never seen her live. So when Patti Smith announced a series of concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her seminal album, "Horses" we jumped at the chance and purchased tickets for one of the shows at the iconic Chicago Theater.


It was an amazing show, made even more special by the fact that Smith was born in Chicago and clearly holds the city close in her heart. The band and the venue sounded great, and the complete lack of visuals and effects gave the show a welcome intimacy (and human scale). For her part, Smith sang, stomped, shouted and clapped through a two hour set with the energy of someone half her age. 

But the power of iconic women artists didn't stop there. While Patti Smith was the original impetus for our Chicago trip, her show coincided with a major exhibition of Yoko Ono's work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and an retrospective of Elizabeth Catlett's work at the Chicago Art Institute.  We'd  missed the Elizabeth Catlett show when it was at the Brooklyn Museum, and were thrilled when we saw we'd get a second chance in Chicago.

The Yoko Ono exhibition featured over 200 of her works dating back to the late 50s and early 60s. It featured films, performances, photos, drawings, and participatory pieces including Mend Piece (1966). In this work visitors are invited to use tape and twine to help 'mend" broken fragments of China, and then display them on gallery shelves. 


a less well-known but equally formidable artist is Elizabeth Catlett. The exhibiton, Elizabeth Catlett: “A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” traces her career as an artist, advocate and activist through the second half of the 20th-century. Included in the show are sculptures, prints, paintings and woodcuts, all imbued with the artist's tireless sense of justice. A personal favorite of mine was Floating Family from 1995. This piece was created for the Henry F. Legler Regional branch of the Chicago Public Library, where it normally hangs above the circulation desk. 


Other highlights from the trip included a visit to Goddess and the Baker on Wabash Avenue...


The magnificent Tiffany Dome at the Chicago Cultural Center (formerly the Chicago Public Library)...
 

And the fall colors and Chicago skyline views at the lovely Laurie Gardens...


So, while we haven't done as much travel as we might have liked in 2025, I was grateful for a chance to spend a long weekend in Chicago with my wife, and some other amazing women. 

Now, it's back to work. That Akron almost mansion isn't going to prime and paint itself! 

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