Conversion Conference Chicago - Chicago Pictures

Chicago Goes Pop & Serra Stands Alone

Monday: Conversion Conference Live Blog Notes On Atlantic BT Blog

Sunday, June 24
Arrived in Chicago yesterday and living here almost 20 years ago now feels like a dream. Ever been somewhere you used to know well and feel like you've never been there? That was how much of yesterday felt. One reason is Chicago has been on a building boom. I swear half the city seems new. Spent the day at the Art Institute at the Roy Lichtenstein Exhibit and visited some old friends (Hopper, Stuart Davis, Cy Twombly). Biggest surprise was finding Reading Cones, a Richard Serra, standing all by itself in Grant Park.

Standing inside a Serra is as close to religious as I get (lol). there was great graffiti inside the Serra. The face was magical. Looking forward to live blogging today's Conversion Conference on AtlanticBT's Blog.

Even casual readers of ScentTrail know how much I love Piet Mondrian. I spent several months creating his grid for the first website I ever created for FoundObjects.com in 1999. FoundObjects.com is, sad to say, gone, but my love for Modrian's magical grid remains.

You could get a pretty good view of art history at the Art Institute's Lichtenstein's exhibit, but my favorite Roy take on art history was his application of those Ben Day Dots to Mondrian.

Despite feeling dislocated with a flood of water having passed under my bridge in the last 20 years, I found old and new friends in Chicago yesterday.

Also found it ironic the best thing I found in the Art Institute store were some crazy good glass pots by an artist, Pablo de Soto, from Penland in NC. Have to remember to visit the craft school at Penland soon.