On Tuesday, we bid adieu to Indiana with it's family and friend visits along with many wonderful Oddasee sights and surprises. Then we made our way to the "Windy City" of Chicago. No targets on our route but mostly a travel day with a bit too much time on the Interstates and the evil tollroads (it's not the loss of cash but rather the incredibly inept system that leads to massive backups -- aka freakin' parking lots disguised as a highway).
After a nice dip in the pool and a nice healthy meal, it was back to the room to plot our plan of attack for Wednesday. This led to an interesting decision..... like DC, there is just way too much to see in Chi-Town. Our commitment to the Oddasee ideals was discussed and, without hesitation, we decided to keep on track -- focus people focus! So, rather than be distracted by things like the Museum of Science & Industry, the noteworthy zoo or the many traditional and highly regarded art museums, we opted for a quick hit and run. Part of the decision is that we are eagerly anticipating our trek into Wisconsin; it is second only to Kansas in outsider art sites. This is where we get the most fired up and, for that reason, we choose to spend more time driving back roads into the Cheesehead state.
Our targets for the day:
1. The International Museum of Surgical Science - to be covered in Days 77/78 -- Part B
2. The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art -- This non-profit lies in the heart of the West River District of Chicago. The GPS (now called Jane as we decided to change voice and rename her; Madge is on vacation and taking some diction classes).
In a rather non-descript building we were pleasantly surprised to find a pristine gallery space filled with the incredible work of Charles Steffen. His biography tells of his youthful art training that was cut woefully short by a nervous breakdown that led him to be in an asylum for 15 years. Upon his release, his continued delicate mental state made traditional jobs impossible but fortunately, art became his inspiration and sanctuary. The work was whimsical but with an overt dark side and deeply personal with his comments written directly onto the drawings -- mostly executed on brown wrapping paper. It was like looking directly into this guy's head and heart; the drawings and reading his words were equal parts of his art.
In the back gallery, a new exhibit was being installed. We got to see a few paintings and assemblages of Peter Anton; a living Chicagoan who is a shining star in the local outsider art scene. The pieces are being displayed along with hundreds of related photos.
Then in a further back corner was a very accurate recreation of the home/studio of outsider art god, Henry Darger. The tiny room (about 28 x 14 ft) is made up entirely of objects (including stacks and stacks of journals), furniture and art supplies from Henry's actual studio/living space. Amazing to think he created his vast portfolio of art work and the yet to be published extraordinary novel/series, all in this small space. We saw some of his work at the VAM in Baltimore. It was an unexpected peek into the artistic process and one artist's work environment. So for all you artists that think you can't make art unless you have large designated space/loft/studio with north light exposure coming through 6 foot windows and the latest equipment, Rodney and Henry (from his grave) says "Posh and hooey. Get to work".
3. As part of our hasty retreat from the Chicago chaos (Only one day in Chicago? Are you two nuts? Yup...... time to find more quirky sites and humans on the back roads of Wisconsin) we headed toward Byron, IL. Outside of that metropolitan mecca (pop. 528), we sought the La Fleur Grotto. It was created in honor of the return of Joe and Josie's sons from WWII. It's a small but well crafted little environment that served to calm our overly traffic weary souls.
Well that's it for yet another message from your wandering friends. There will be a "Part B" devoted to the most impressive part of our July 7th Oddasee itinerary.
Love, artful madness, rocks and tollroads,
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