The only clouds in the sky during my recent trip to Chicago reflected in this stunning piece at Millennium Park. How could something so heavy appear so light?
This is the largest piece in her series, measuring 96″ x 288″, and dramatically hung above a huge staircase at the Art Institute of Chicago. The paintings, completed between 1963 and 1965, followed a series of long round the world flights she took in 1960. Like Cloud Gate, the piece is imbued with light, and deeply spiritual.
Mies and Musings
The Architecture Institute is a Chicago treasure. It’s a model for architecture institutes world wide. I took a day long Farnsworth House Plus tour with one of their knowledgeable volunteer guides. She had an in depth grasp of Chicago architecture, as well as many amusing anecdotes. I loved hearing her phrase ‘…drank the Kool-aide of Mies.’ I thought, simultaneously, that she was referring to Ken Kesey and The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test, or, to the Jones Town mass suicides. This then reminded me the first time a younger colleague and friend sent me an email with the closing – lol. He couldn’t possible mean lots of love. My daughter said “You know that means laugh out loud…?”