The Bean and Conquest in Neon

Since we had a date out in Schaumburg yet to attend, we left the Christkindlmarket earlier than I had hoped. But before catching the train, we stopped out at Millennium Park. I'd walked by it before, stayed in a hotel across the street, but had never actually been there. And so we took a short stroll around. Here is the famous bean:



Miles' asthma started acting up so we headed indoors. We stopped in at the Chicago Cultural Center to warm ourselves and catch the pedway back to the vicinity of the L station. My mom said that Hizzoner wanted to tear it down but that his wife put the kibosh on that idea. Good thing too because it is absolutely beautiful.



Walking through, we found some really nice art installations. The one that The D and I liked the most was by Josue Pellot, a Chicago artist of Puerto Rican descent. First we looked at this huge photo called La Municipalwhich features this castle-like mall on a hill. If you look close enough, you'll find things just aren't quite right. You can see the photo here.

Pellot explores his Puerto Rican heritage in his art and he goes back 500+ years with "1493" which is a series of three neon installations portraying some early interactions between conquistadors and native South Americans.







I don't know what it is but there's just something about the tragic tale of the conquest of the Americas told in neon that I find appealing. Perhaps it is seeing colonialism and murder done in a medium usually reserved for more friendly and inviting purposes.

Next stop: Legoland Discovery Center.