The Awful Tales of Awkward Echidna

"Tribute to the Dive bars of Savannah" pen & ink, May 2009. For sale (email if interested).

Chicago Institute of Art

Chicago, ILI decided to spend a day at the art museum (I was staying at the famous Palmer House for $80 a night,which was two blocks away) and here is what I found inside its impressive walls...

"The Drinkers" or "The Four Ages of Man" by Vincent VanGogh
This painting is obviously one never covered in any of my art history/criticism classes but I like the concept of man drinking himself into oblivion-- but the composition, not so much... good thing he got better at that later on.





"Equestrienne" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

I really like Lautrec's work, and you should to! Nah, just kiddin, but I think most illustrators can at least respect his success, if not his style. Anyway, this piece caught my eye because of, well, I'm sure you can see what it was, and if not, its the creepy lady leaning surreptitiously in the edge of the picture frame. Then when I looked closer it seemed that she had been cut out and glued back in. The woman is the scandalous English singer May Milton, and she was most likely cut out because her appearance was shoking and made the peice hard to sell. I also like that Lautrec put himself and his cousin in the piece, so even today the viewer can see a glimpse of what the artist's life was like. And judging from this painting, I'd say he and I probably would've gotten along very well.

"James Vibert, Sculptor" 1907 by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler

I never studied Swiss artists too much, so I don't have too much to compare this one to, but I really like this piece for a couple of reasons. First off, the rectangles. The beard, broad shoulders, hair and canvas shape all work together making an almost symmetrical piece, but something is off, which leads me to the next element I like- the lazy eye. When examined closer, it really seems like his eyes are looking in opposite directions. Paired with a mona lisa smile, and Hodler's friend James comes off as ambiguous yet sweet. (click on his name to see a scultpure James did in plaster of Hodler)

Untitled, by Phillip Guston 1976

Ok, so all I've got to say about this one is... GAAAARRRRHHHHSSSSHHHH!!!!! oh, and wtf, mate? cuz I be like sooo much betta dan dis fool ova here-->
Well, this piece puts me in a difficult position, because while it does give me hope that someday some philanthropist/art dealer/overall rich person will appreciate my hideously fantastic bar drawings and add them to their personal collection, the flip side is that this person will most likely be insane. Eh, such is life, and i suppose I should start looking for a wealthy weirdo of my own.

"Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida" 1929
by Ivan Albright

In this beautifully painful painting, the symbolic references to time and beauty are amazingly disturbing- a modern look on the traditional Vanitas paintings. I like this piece mainly because of the dramatically rendered legs, and also because it is a sad reminder that time is fleeting and it is pointless to try to stop it. Good job Ivan.








I leave you with this wonderful picture I took from Millenium Park...
who thought a giant bean could serve as the coolest public art I have ever seen??