Exploring Chicago: Carved in Stone

(This piece was originally written as part of an ongoing series for Tower Topics, a newsletter produced by and for the residents of Imperial Towers in Chicago. The publication was discontinued before this piece was published.)

The Chicago art scene is incredibly diverse representing all styles and mediums, from the cultural works on display at the National Museum of Mexican Art to the galleries of Pilsen, the studios at the Fine Art Building, installations at the MCA and countless iconic public sculptures like Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (aka “the Bean”) and Picaso’s famous, whatever it is, in the courtyard of the Richard J. Daley Center.

As an artist myself, it’s no surprise that my adventure list led me to spend copious amounts of time in front of both public and private artworks, but what did surprise me was the commonalities between many of the works that impacted me the most. They were all lesser known public artworks, and all of them were carved in stone.

Eternal Silence
At the border between Ravenswood and Uptown is what may be one of the city’s most overlooked historical treasures – Graceland Cemetery. Amidst the remarkable statues and monuments, civic leaders such as Wacker and Altgeld and famous city architects like Burnham, Sullivan and Root share space with the pioneering private eye Alan Pinkerton and Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. In this serene setting the infamous George Streeter still squats on the same land as Pullman, Fairbanks and Palmer, where at last they seem to have found peace as neighbors. With a little research and a keen eye, you could learn the entire history of Chicago from a tour of Graceland.

But one iconic stone sculpture carved in 1909 by Lorado Taft left me awestruck and speechless. This turned out to be an appropriate response since the Dexter Graves Monument is better known as Eternal Silence.

Somber and haunting, this 10 foot tall hooded reaper-like figure has one hand raising a fold of its cloak over its mouth, as a grim and powerful reminder that though we may come to visit and speak to the departed, they are forever unable to hold up their end of the conversation. Somehow even the oxidization on the black granite statue only serves to make it all the more formidable.

Fountain of Time
After seeing my first Taft monument, I had to know if there were any others nearby. Sure enough, just west of UIC at the eastern edge of Washington Park is another larger work titled Fountain of Time. 

As the name suggests, this monument depicts the passage of time through a seemingly endless procession of all manner of individuals including soldiers, laborers, and even the artist himself, marching from youth to old age while across the fountain, the massive hooded figure of time is alone unmoved and unmoving.

Presented to the city in 1905, for more than a century this cement and steel-reinforced work has reminded all who gaze upon it that our time is fleeting. You may be detecting a theme or fixation in the artist’s work – the same point that Eternal Silence makes without words, The Fountain of Time drives home with a visual yell. Part of the inscription at the base of the fountain further illuminates the artist’s inspiration:

“A line by Austin Dobson had suggested the theme. Time goes you say? Ah no. Alas, time stays, we go.”

The Secret Mermaid of Burnham Park
After experiencing the existential profundity of two back-to-back sculptures by Lorado Taft I was in the mood for some something more whimsical. Hence the mermaid.

Keep in mind that not all public artwork begins with public approval or even public knowledge. The Secret Mermaid by the lake inside of Burnham Park is a prime example of this. Secretly carved in 1986 by four artists (Roman Villareal, Jose Moreno, Fred Arroyo, and Edfu Kingigna) while evading detection by the police, today the mermaid sunbathes happily atop the fish and waves chiseled into the stone that supports her.

When the work was first discovered in 2000 by the US Army Corps of Engineers during an effort to restore the shoreline, it seemed like a creative answer to the message left by the protagonist of the Shawshank Redemption for his friend, which is to say a rock that has no earthly business being there. The public was left to speculate on its origin with theories covering everything from a remnant of the World’s Colombian Exhibition to the work of a single artist working away bit by bit over the course of years.

Eventually the truth was revealed and after being locked away in storage for three years by the Park District in 2004, a group of students petitioned to have it restored and returned to its unnatural habitat. Currently you can find this lady of the lake along Oakwood Beach.

Other Public Artworks Worth Checking Out
There’s never a shortage of public artwork in and around the city to explore. If you walk across the street from Imperial Towers to Montrose beach and head south, you’ll come upon several notable works including the Kwagulth Totem Pole and Sharon Kilburg’s blue “Chevron.” If you’re up for a trip outside of the neighborhood, I highly recommend the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park and Jack Howard-Potter’s “Winged Glory” on the 4800 block of North Damen Avenue at the edge of Greek Town.

About my "Exploring Chicago" series: Chicago will always be the first city I really fell in love with. The history, the people, the food and just the feeling I had living there – it reminded me of what it means to be at home somewhere. But Jen had lived there her whole life and always wanted to move to Florida, and I agreed. After all, it’s a big world with a lot to see and maybe it’s possible to become too comfortable in one spot. So we made a bucket list of unique things we wanted to do before we left the Windy City and as a means of saying farewell to a place we loved, we devoted ourselves to getting to know it better, finding its hidden streets, its local flavor and its secret history. That urban exploration has turned into a passion that we’ve continued in Florida… but Chicago still occupies a unique place in my personal story. This series of articles allows me to share that intense curiosity and sense of wonder while adding yet one more dimension to my experience – that of fond reflection.