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Pritzker Abstract #3
Chicago, Illinois
2011

One last view of the Pritzker Pavilion. I like each of the three Pritzker images individually but have been thinking they might be even more powerful together. I might have to try printing them and mounting them as a triptych.

Pritzker Abstract #2
Chicago, Illinois
2011

I think the appeal of Gehry’s buildings is that they make cold, angular, scaly metal forms actually look sensual. In fact, photos of Gehry’s work have much the same feel as that other perennially photographed sensual subject (no not women), sand dunes. This comparison came to mind when I was viewing fellow photographer Cole Thompson’s portofolio The Dunes of Nude around the same time I was working on my Pritzger images.

Pritzker Abstract #1
Chicago, Illinois
2011

If you’re a photographer and a fan of dramatic architectural abstracts, then any Frank Gehry designed structure is heaven–a well trampled heaven to be sure (covered by many, many, photographers), but quite irresistible nonetheless. This is from the Jay Pritzger Pavilion, a bandshell in Millennium Park.

Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
2011

A view along Michigan Avenue from Grant Park.

Pigment Peeper
Chicago, Illinois
2011

In digital photography there is a name for someone who spends a lot of time zooming in on photographs on their computer screen looking at extreme details not visible when viewed from a normal distance–they are called pixel peepers. This young woman appears to be doing the painter’s equivalent with this oil painting.

Five Figure Studies
Chicago, Illinois
2011

Some interesting body language on display here.

Taking Care of Business
Chicago, Illinois
2011

People seem to be on their cell phones everywhere, all the time. Last week in the men’s room at the Minneapolis airport I saw a guy multi-tasking by talking on his phone while standing at a urinal. (Insert your favorite Larry Craig joke here.) So maybe it’s just my imagination that it is more rare to see people on the phone in museums like this guy in the Art Institute of Chicago. Probably so, as I recall somewhere I have a photo Connie on her phone accepting a job offer while sitting on the floor in the main hallway of the National Gallery in Washington D.C.

Giants Among Women
Chicago, Illinois
2011

This photo has some similarity to yesterday’s in that there  seems to be big mismatch among the sizes of the people. In this case of course it’s just because the woman in the foreground is very close to the camera while yesterday the statue of the guy really was giant (maybe 15 feet tall).

Girl Reading a Book #17
Chicago, Illinois
2011

A young woman browsing the exhibit brochure in the modern art wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Gesture (Sorrow)
Chicago, Illinois
2011

Detail from the sculpture The Solitude of the Soul at the Art Institute of Chicago.