Never Change, Josh

Never change, Josh; that would be my best advice for the young man with the chance to be a star. For more than 20 minutes the night I visited the minor league park, Josh Vitters stood calmly and signed autographs for kids and posed for pictures with kids and had kind words to say to each of the young fans.

More interested in photographs, I had no interest in an autograph. But after watching him act as a wonderful ambassador for the game of baseball for that much time, with no other player on either team acting in the same way, I walked up and shook his hand. "Good luck to you," I said, since we baseball lovers need great guys to be the stars of the game.

Never change, Josh.

More Chiefs' Baseball

As mentioned in the previous post, the size of the minor league ballpark puts fans a lot closer to the action than you would be in a major league park. So close you can see the concentration on the faces, or see the tongue between the teeth almost like Michael Jordan.

Here we see two view of future Cub Josh Vitters at the Kane County Cougars stadium. On a different trip to the same ballpark, it was even close enough to hear the angry curse word a first baseman let fly after a throw went flying by him. As the saying goes, "you can't beat fun at the old ball park!"

Minor League Baseball

Forty minutes away from my house in the suburbs of Chicago, the Kane County Cougars are a highly-successful Midwest League franchise, a Class A farm team of the Oakland Athletics. Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva is a wonderful place to watch baseball and have a ton of fun. Since I am not an Oakland fan, I tend not to get out there very often.

But my spring training road trip in late March, logged here shortly thereafter, I enjoyed watching the four Cubs minor league teams work out, including the Peoria Chiefs. The Chiefs, the Cubs Midwest League entry, feature several young future Cubs, including former first-round draft choice Josh Vitters, a third baseman. In early April, this blog showed Vitters in Arizona in a standard photo as well as a polar coordinate semi-abstract shot. Liking the idea of seeing more of this young prospect, I went out to a Chiefs-Cougars game earlier this month.

The young future big-leaguer did not disappoint. For one thing, the size and scale of the stadium make it so much easier to see ballplayers than the bigger major league parks. For another, the atmosphere is more down-home, and several players spend more time on getting to talk to fans and signing autographs for kids. These photos, along with several others, will be favorites of mine, especially if Josh winds up manning third base for the Cubs in two or three years. Time will tell!

More Chiefs/Vitters images in the next post.

Nighthawks

Perhaps my favorite painting ever, Edward Hopper's 1942 masterpiece Nighthawks has been a poster on my classroom wall and a subject for analytical essay in my English class over several years. On the occasion of one of my visits to the Art Institute, it became the core of a poem:

NIGHTHAWK ON THE SIDEWALK


Hundreds of times I have walked this vacant sidewalk,
Hundreds of times and more, always so late at night.
Phillies Cigars still being sold on the five cent ad sign above;
Shops all shuttered, cobwebbed, abandoned across the street.
Every time I walk this curved sidewalk the air is frozen midnight.

And there they are again inside, of course, that couple
Looking bored if not despondent, all eyes lowered,
Never touching, never speaking.

And there he is again inside, as well, back turned to me,
Huddled over his coffee, alone,
Never moving, never speaking.

And the soda jerk is there inside, too, of course -- leaning over,
Dishing up a drink or making a dessert or washing a dish,
Never finishing, never speaking.

Frozen in time, we five nighthawks, never a twitch or a blink--
Four of them here since the middle of World War II, never a joke or a smile.
And tonight I join them again, out here on the silent sidewalk,
Locked away from the yellow light inside, facing the dark future
Lurking around the corner, where I do not wish to walk.
So where exactly is the door that might let me inside?

Greyed Rainbow

Two final works of art from the Modern Wing collection, each paired with a poem, before we look into a minor league baseball player. I have long been an admirer of Jackson Pollock and have really thought the 1953 masterpiece Greyed Rainbow was about his best. Several years ago after seeing the work I wrote a poem. Here it is:

THE NEWS AS GRAYED RAINBOW

Each evening several professional semi-monotones
Punctuate several news reports right on schedule
With a smooth "and that's this edition of the news" --
With the same voice and the same timing and in plenty of time
For the commercials and the comedies-to-come.
Nice and neat it is as if the daily news were
Painted with the precise warmth of Rembrandt
Chalked with the soft pastels of Degas, or
Sketched with the classic optimism of Norman Rockwell.
Most nights the news were better painted by Jackson Pollock
With his canvas flat on the floor, sloshing and
Squirting the paint from the tubes at random

Heading Out

One last post from the Modern Wing of the Art Institute. It seemed to me a must to return to the large, bright, cheery central core area on the way to the main north doors. We see the easy flow of people from area to area in the well-lit room. We see the flow moving around the sculpture.

Target sponsored the free visits during the first week, and they should be thanked for that support. Recent reviews have mentioned that the opening week had large crowds and that perhaps it is a little less hectic there now. But Target supported those crowds, and it was very exciting to be a part of it. Thanks, Target!

Pritzker Garden

A pleasant portion of the Modern Wing is the Pritzker Garden, just to the east of the central core of the building. New but already pleasant and peaceful, this outside area will only improve with age and time for growing.

Museums are designed as places for people to "muse," to relax and to think. Welcoming areas that provide the opportunity for reflection truly enhance any museum.

Bisected Man

Just had to show you the "artifact" Picasso provided to the Art Institute. After all, it is the equivalent of reading a great writer's rough draft, so it is right not to display it under normal circumstances.

For me it was not just the interest of a favorite painting that might have been very different from the way I have always known it. More than that I can best say in a different format.

A POEM:

IN THE CLOSET 47 YEARS

To begin,

When Picasso painted his pink masterpiece
Mother and Child it was 1921, and the young
Family actually had the father included, squat-seated
Along the left margin, solid, bearded, curly,
Masculine, stolid; forming a cup-shape composition
Alongside the familiar Madonna-like mother and child.
However,

When Picasso completed his pink masterpiece
He had removed the man and restretched the canvas
Without him, with only traces of the bearded face
Visible on the new tacking margin.
The remainder was cut off for storage
By the artist himself in some symbolic closet:
Hair, beard, one leg, one thigh,
One buttock -- like half of a broasted chicken
Pulled off the spit and stacked in the corner.

Meanwhile,
She and the child were loved and admired for 47 years husbandless
Until Picasso located and donated the fragment to Chicago
During the tumultuous bloody year of 1968.
After nearly a half-century in the closet, but
Now on occasional display coupled with the
Ex-wife, the half-man is on separated display,
Still faceless and nearly-still-forgotten.

To conclude,

The feminine side of Picasso clearly must have
Moved the artist to lop off the masculine side of the masterpiece
So bluntly: No visible blood was shed during the amputation.

New Rooms for Old Friends

Fernand Leger's 1927 Composition in Blue and Pablo Picasso's 1921 Mother and Child are among several old friends which now have new rooms. Perhaps the best part of the exhibit rooms, to me, were seeing these old friends in their fresh, bright new digs. It was almost a housewarming party for these and other paintings looking young and, well, modern.

Leger has always seemed to me to be an under-appreciated cubist. His work is at times as intriguing and creative as Picasso's. On the other hand, it seems to me that the cubist Picasso is seen by some as the only Picasso; I have always loved the warm color and soft round shapes in Mother and Child.

By the way, in about 1968 Picasso visited the Art Institute and remarked that he had a fragment of this work that he had removed during the composition. He had cut the left hand edge of the painting and narrowed the work, and he had saved a portion of the image. The artist graciously offered it to the Art Institute and it is now in their files (but not on display). It was the apparent father, sitting to the left and making the composition a "cup" shape. Not all the male image is on the remnant, as the canvas was restretched; X-ray examinations have shown part of him still there, under the image and under the frame.

While the remnant is not shown here, and should not be generally shown, it was on display for a period of time in a Picasso display.

Inside Entrance

The Modern Wing has its own "front door," as mentioned in previous posts. But of course it is a new wing, not an entire new building, so it has an inside entrance. This passage, well designed as an easy access and a clear demarcation of the division, is just north of the courtyard which has been the longtime home of the famed Chagall windows. In other words, one looking at the windows would see the Modern Wing by turning to look to the left.

Of course, the Chagall windows have been in storage for a good long time as protection during the construction period. On the opening weekend, none of the four guides I asked knew when the Chagall windows were scheduled for a return to their place in the Art Institute. That will be another great day on Michigan Avenue.

The Quality of Light

The wonderful quality of light flowing through into the central portion of the Modern Wing comes from the design of the roof, another work of art on its own.

There are several places to see striking views of the light filtering through that roof, but none better than the middle of the central core, which has easy access to both sides of the building. While the balcony photo suggests easy access from side to side, that is not the case. One of the questions about the design of the building is that a person on the top floor, finishing in the galleries, might be only 30-40 years away from the restaurant and the viewing area on the roof. But their is no direct access. One must walk down to the first floor and then take an elevator up to the third floor. Security concerns were cited as the basis for this choice, but it is a strange trip down and up!

Central Core

Our previous post lauded the architecture of the Art Institute Modern Wing, a work of art that houses works or art. We looked at exterior views in that post, so here are a pair that show the open, airy look and feel of the area's interior core. The long view is from the upper level and in a position where the older portion of the museum would be behind you. That means the main entrance we have seen from outside is at the far end of the atrium-like central area. A special exhibit area is to the left, along with a major new gift shop and access to the roof restaurant. To the right you can see the stairway that leads to the upper levels, with the main exhibit rooms further to the right.

Certainly you will have a better feel for the bright, cheery area soon -- as soon as you can get to see the Modern Wing for yourself.

Work of Art by Piano

The two views we look at today will pretty much speak for themselves. As anticipated, Enzo Piano created a work of architectural art in the design of the new wing, generating space on the north and east sides of the classically-styled building that simply had to have an entry of its own. It is truly the most striking work of art I saw that day!

Very Timely Blog Post!

Yesterday's post turned out to be incredibly timely. In nearly an offhand manner, I used the word "jaywalk" to refer to one of the ways to get across Monroe Street to enter the Art Institute's Modern Wing. We had looked at the Nichols Bridgeway, seen rising to the roof to the far right in the photo here. The bridgeway enters pedestrians on the roof, where people can be seen looking out from the vista windows which look north into Millennium Park.

Timely? What makes a mention of jawyalking timely? This morning's CHICAGO TRIBUNE, on page 6, has a full story on the need for a mid-block crosswalk to cut down the danger to the many jaywalkers. Good thing we did not put off yesterday's post, as the Trib would have had the scoop!

The point-of-view here, by the way, is from inside the lobby of the Grant Park/Millenium Park underground garage, which empties parkers directly across the street from the Modern Wing door. That explains the vertical "stripes" in the photo. It also explains why a crosswalk should have been designed here already, during the years that the addition was under construction. The location of the parking garage lobby was not mentioned in the Trib, which makes this post another scoop for Rick Beato Photo.

I am certain that my son, a journalism professional, will be proud. Two Scoops! Sounds familiar . . .

From the Park to the Museum

Once the bridge carried you over the street or once you jaywalk across the street, you can enter the Art Institute Chicago's Modern Wing. Built to the south and east of the older building, it has its own look.

Contrasted to the 1890s-classic look of the Michigan Avenue entrance, which features large columns and few windows, the new section appears to be all window and plenty of open space. That impression is accurate, as we shall see in upcoming posts.

Hotels Combined

No posts the past few days as more important events were taking place: my trip to Boston to spend time with 6-year old Carolyn and to meet 3-week old Bobby. My two grandchildren are wonderful and the time we spent was one hundred percent solid gold.



In the meantime, I came across a new hotel search engine that I will be looking into for my next visit. I was sent a message that Hotels Combined is willing to donate $20 to Make-a-Wish for a mention on a blog, so here is my post to earn that donation!

See more info and what others are saying at http://www.hotelscombined.com/Charity.aspx

The Nichols Bridgeway

The walkway that bridges a street and attaches the Art Institute's Modern Wing is a work of art itself, interesting to look at and fun to walk over. Park visitors can climb to a roof garden above the museum, can eat at the restaurant up on the roof, and can enter the museum to see the many works of art.

Interestingly, though, the climb to the roof only allows entrance to the museum by taking an escalator back down to the ground floor. It would have been easier to walk across the street and enter the building. Easier, but nowhere near as pretty!

Even a Place for a Nap

About to leave the park and head over the bridge to the Art Institute Modern Wing, we see how highly this park is valued in the huge organization of the Chicago Park District. As far as I know, no other park has classy pennants with a park logo. This is not to say the attention is undeserved, because this park is exactly what every park in every town should be or at least would like to be: it is a people magnet. People come to ooh and aah, they come to eat at a great restaurant, they come to take pictures and to see flowers and to visit and to throw Frisbees.

Oh, yes, and some come to take an nap in the warm sunshine. Sleep well!

Flowers, Present & Future

Visitors to Millennium Park are always graced with beautiful flower beds, changed as appropriate for the flow of the seasons. My spring visit featured a two-tone collection of tulips in full bloom set in an immaculate bed, attractive from every side.

Meanwhile, the new bridge crossing the street to the Art Institute's Modern Wing allows a peek over a service area wall to see stacks of the summer plantings standing calmly on Sunday afternoon, likely waiting for Monday morning and planting.

Big Tall Neighbors

The Sunday I was at Millennium Park was totally sun-kissed. Why I would write that, I have no idea, as the two photos would certainly speak for themselves.

Millennium Park is at the northwest corner of what has long been Grant Park, right at the foot of the Prudential Building. As everyone in Chicago is aware that the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center are both well over 90 stories, it is a bit surprising to know that fifty years ago, the Prudential Building was the high-rise, with a popular observatory on an upper floor -- the 47th floor, I think; about half as high in the sky as the observatory at the Hancock. Long closed, that would be a neat vantage point to see this wonderful new park.

Cloud Gate, or The Bean

Following the rock and roll of the Taste of Glen Ellyn, the photographic weekend continued on Sunday with a visit to Millennium Park, the striking new configuration of a portion of what was once called Grant Park along Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.

The day of statues of generals on horseback or of statesmen giving speeches seems rooted deeply into the past. Modern statuary is much more often a form of so-called 'Modern Art,' some of which I love and some of which I confess not to understand much. The key location in Millennium Park is titled 'Cloud Gate,' but I doubt if the majority of Chicagoans would have any idea of that official title. Most everyone calls it 'The Bean,' and since you see the sculpture here, that nickname needs no explanation.

Striking, interesting, reflective: this work is so alive and so interactive that it is hard to image how anyone would dislike it. The highly-polished surface reflects the surrounding skyline, the blue of the sky on sunny days, the clouds . . . and the people visiting the park. Day and night, one of the things you see constantly is the amateur and the professional photographer, armed with upscale DSLRs or simple point-&-shoots or, for that matter, camera phones, each getting a creative viewpoint on the eye magnet called The Bean.

Some even like to take photos of people taking photos. We will look back in on the Park in some upcoming posts.

Shindig Dancers

As promised, one more look at the exciting stage show presented by the New Invaders. Not on stage for all songs but brought up for the rocking dance tunes, the pair of Shindig dancers, Roberta and Carla, add to the atmosphere of fun and enjoyment at every show.

For those of you too young to remember, there were several rock & roll television shows in the 60s, from The Monkees to Hullabaloo! (yes, including the exclamation point!), Dick Clark's Bandstand and an afternoon show called Action. That third title was another Dick Clark show which featured Paul Revere & The Raiders, red coats and all. Freddy Cannon was another contributor, and his hit song Action ("Let me take you where the action is . . ."). And the list should also include The Ed Sullivan Show. The Really Big Show not only brought the Beatles to New York, it also forced the Rolling Stones to change the words of one of their risque songs. Imagine Mick Jagger singing "Let's spend some time together."

And one of the popular shows was called Shindig. It featured lots of music and lots of go-go dancing. Throughout the decade, young rockers were quite able to tune in and see great music several nights a week. Roberta and Carla bring high energy to the stage and keep the go-go tradition alive.

Loads of fun at a New Invaders concert. Why not try them out for yourself this summer season?

Rhythm Section

Completing the regular lineup of the New Invaders would be what is commonly known as the "rhythm section," which in rock & roll terms usually features the bass guitar and the drums.

In the Invaders' versatile lineup, drummer Heath Chappell is free to step front & center during the course of the concert to sing lead on certain songs. Since guitarist Joe Garcia is comfortable behind the drum kit, Chappell gets to enjoy the change of pace while several members of the band are on the move to differing spots on the stage.

Dave Nuccio, who spends most of his time on bass, gives the group a pair of lefties, another unique fact about the Invaders. Nuccio moves to keyboards at times during a show.

One more post will follow with an additional touch of the '60s adding lots of visual appeal to the New Invaders' lineup.

Dual Guitars

The power of much 60s rock is based on having at least one guitar with an artist who can carry the show with the rhythm and the lead lines. No great group was lacking a lead guitar who could rip out a memorable lick and the drop of a guitar pick. The New Invaders, a group with considerable versatility, has a pair of guitarists who fit the bill.

Lefty Joe Garcia not only drives many of the songs with the guitar, but also moves to bass guitar on certain songs and even sits in behind the drum kit during the course of the night. This allows the bass player and drummer to move to different locations on the stage and adds to the range of music the group can handle.

Jim Herter, seen here with the guitar at rest while he plays the flute, also works saxophone and harmonica into his contributions. His rocking lead lines warmed up the night at the Taste of Glen Ellyn, and he capably fills the role of lead vocalist on certain songs as well.

The tight rocking group's bassist and drummer will be featured in the next post.

She Knows a Place

Lots of great music of the '60s was sung by guys, either solo or in bands. But no one can cover a full range of the decade without a female singer. All the wonderful girl groups, plenty of female soloists from America, plenty of great songs from other countries -- a great 60s band needs a great female singer. Melody Mallin, seen here singing Petula Clark's "I Know a Place," handles all the lead for the female songs and adds backing vocals to several other songs.

The New Invaders great classic rock sound is built on some great guitar licks. Next post will feature the guitar stars.

The New Invaders

'Twas a cold evening for the Taste of Glen Ellyn, a mid-May Saturday for which the weatherman was warning possible freezing temperatures. I had wanted to shoot some rock and roll and had planned the trip, but after I arrived I wondered if I had made the right decision. Waiting for the New Invaders to begin their set after 8:00 PM, with the temperature dropping enough that vocalist Dave Huizenga mentioned the weather in his opening, we needed some heat. Stubborn enough to wait, I hoped for the best.

And I got it. The New Invaders play music of the '60s, lots of British Invasion, spirited tunes with outstanding guitar licks and powerful rhythm. Huizenga, who also plays keyboards and guitar, is the primary singer and focal point of the band. Personable, great at interacting with the crowd, he got the show going early and kept it moving throughout the concert. Music of the Kinks, the Hollies, and even the Blues Magoos, the New Invaders provided the heat and no one left to get out of the cold.

The New Invaders also features lots of girl group songs. Obviously, there must be another singer in the works, which will become evident in the next post.

Woodpecker Released

After the marvel of seeing the bare breast of the woodpecker mother, the volunteer turned the bird over and checked the tops of the wings. The marking pattern is pretty impressive in the treetops, but it is awesome right in front of you. And then he turned the bird over to a girl who was interested in setting it free. A hold, a release, and the woodpecker was on the way to the treetops.

And I was on the way to a track meet, then a visit to a different forest preserve. That evening, a bit of rock and roll. We will look at some rocking musicians and dancers in the next few posts.

From the Nest to the Hand

When the volunteer turned his wrist he touched the breast of the bird and said that she was a mother who had given birth. And he showed the evidence: the coat of feathers covering her breast slips open at the touch of his finger, exposing the underlying skin, if that is the right word.

I was amazed. Just a beginner at birding, I had no idea of the complexity of the process, and if you had asked me, I would have answered that a bird on the nest used its entire body as a sort of cover or blanket to provide the warmth. I had no idea that the body changed in such a spectacular manner, allowing the much warmer core of the mother to be readily available to the babies who will be adults in weeks.

Perhaps everyone else knew all this, but I thought it was a wonderful and clear way to learn something of value. My photographer's instincts would like to thank this female woodpecker for the lesson in the beauty and power of nature.