Chicago posts - Spudart

The ligatures in Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry October 4, 2019
The Museum of Science and Industry is renaming the museum to be the “Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry” Sounds pretty silly right? Look at how long that name is. Plus, Chicagoans notoriously hate renaming buildings. The Chicago…
Tribune Tower ticket compared to State of the Union ticket May 7, 2018
Back in the 1930s, the Tribune Tower’s observation deck boasted one of the best views in Chicago. The ticket to the observation deck looks a bit like the 1984 State of the Union ticket. Ah, vintage design.
Which is more valuable: $3000 wagcares sweepstakes or colorful leaf? October 10, 2014
What if you found a masterpiece painting laying on a busy sidewalk? Certainly you would look at it. Maybe you might even pick it up, or photograph it. During autumn we have millions of such masterpieces laying on our sidewalks.…
Goal: Have one of my artworks officially on display in a major art museum August 1, 2014
The opportunity: The Art Institute of Chicago was asking for “surrealist objects” last week as a promotion for the current Magritte exhibit. The objects will be selected by the curator of the Magritte show and will be displayed in the…
Stunningly beautiful Walgreens inside landmark Wrigley Building July 4, 2014
Do you love amazing views? Do you love amazing architecture details? The next place you should visit is–surprise! Walgreens. Walgreens recently moved 40 steps from its cramped quarters above the Billy Goat into the first and second floor of the…
Dyeing the Chicago River Green in fast-motion March 18, 2014
Watch a little boat fly up and down the Chicago River releasing green dye (youtube video). The pattern the boat follows looks like the one would use mowing the lawn. Next year I wanna see zig-zags! If the boat was…
Concealed Carry and Public Spaces – Call for Proposals November 12, 2013
This is a very interesting call for artists. As a public spaces artist who does not want concealed firearms to be legal in Chicago, I’m going to be giving this proposal some serious thought. If you are pro-gun, I’d like…
Art Institute of Chicago marketing to children for Picasso show March 4, 2013
What do you think of the CTA ad for the Picasso show at the Art Institute? My brother, Erik, has some excellent points: Overall, I like it. It captures some of the cubist charm of Picasso’s work. Part of me…
Famous artist costumes and fashion February 6, 2013
If people dressed up as famous artists when visiting museums, who would you go as? I posted this question on the Spudart Facebook Page and got some fun replies. Dali, Warhol: “Someone distinctive looking like Dali or Warhol,” Tom Saaristo.…
Photo technique secrets behind my ten most interesting photos of 2012 January 16, 2013
Flickr determines the most interesting images by a combination of views, comments, and favs. Here are my ten most interesting photos from 2012. Along with each photo I give one photo technique that helps make the image interesting. Nostalgia with…
A printer organization + auto-replies = comedy of misuse September 17, 2012
Oh the print publishing world, often they just don’t understand the digital world. Lovers of paper and ink. I come from that world. From 1997-2007 half my job was designing for print and working with printing companies. The other half…
Sticky note desk and sticky note public art June 20, 2012
This sticky note table is right up my alley. Sticky notes are so versatile. There are so many ways to use them. I use them for public artwork. They are non-destructive and able to make a message. If a viewer…
Why do you go to art museums? May 3, 2012
The Museum of Contemporary Art’s twitter account pointed me in the direction of a “Time Out Chicago” article about their new identity, “We are here at the Museum of Contemporary Art.” The commenting is closed on the article, so I’m…
Color burn ink in Photoshop layers April 17, 2012
The clouds were moving very fast yesterday. I took eight shots–normal exposures, each about 30 seconds apart. Then I brought each photo into one photoshop file as a layer. Each layer got its own hue. And then each layer was…
Seven artists who inspired me at Chicago’s One of a Kind Show December 5, 2011
Do you know about the “One of a Kind” annual show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago? I never heard of it, yet this is its 11th year running. Maybe I never heard of it, because I’m always going to…
B&W images for photo transfer in encaustic wax September 23, 2011
For my encaustic painting class, we are going to learn image transfer. We were told to bring patterns of just b&w—no gray. This is what I’m bringing. Starting with the Gummi bear and moving clockwise:
The Spudart logo looks like the Chicago bean July 11, 2011
My Spudart logo bears a somewhat resemblance to the Chicago Bean, aka Cloudgate. I find pleasure in this because when I designed the Spudart logo in 1998, I wanted my logo to function like a potato where it has many…
Bauhaus is the second result for a google search of design June 15, 2011
I was curious what would be the top result for a google search of design. The first result is wikipedia’s entry for design. I was very happy with the second result, IIT Institute of Design, aka the Bauhaus. My brother…
Transformers “Dark of the Moon” movie filming Chicago on Wacker Drive, Optimus Prime kicks butt scene May 2, 2011
A giant fireball explodes on Wacker Drive for the Transformers 3 movie, “Dark of the Moon.” Now that the trailer is out, we know that this is the location where Optimus Prime kicks some serious butt with his sword. This…
Billboard art by Doug Fogelson April 15, 2011
(above image is a blog post by chicagoartmagazine) Great idea to rent billboards. I wonder how effective the abstract subject matter is to the general public. Often we forget that the general public does not interpret art the same as…
The aesthetics of baseball autographs March 15, 2011
The aesthetic forms of the signature are very intriguing. When I paypal’ed $1.74 to the seller, I included the following note: Thanks for selling this card. It has to be one of the coolest signatures ever. It’s like a work…
Do you administer a Facebook Fan Page? December 10, 2010
Two questions: 1) Do I know you? (in real life or from online) 2) Do you administer a Facebook Fan Page? If the answer to both questions are “yes” then I want to follow your Page, and actually read it…
The top 21 places where my last 500 comments have landed October 5, 2010
I’ve been posting of all my comments on delicious since March 2009. A couple days ago I hit my 1,500th comment. It was on srhbth’s photo, 201009endofsept0060a (pictured above). On April 17, 2010 I covered my first 1000 comments. Now…
Flickr firsts, your flickr birthday, flickrversary August 19, 2010
What is your first photo posted to flickr? Here’s all the first flickr photos of my flickr contacts: And my first photo on flickr: I like that it’s a set of stairs that I climb every day. To think those…
Average design salary for entry-level graduates is between 32k-40k May 17, 2010
Someone asked the following question on the Linked N Chicago group. Fresh Grad Salary Expectations….What are they? You just graduated college… What are you looking for as far as Salary? Would you turn down a salary of 40K? How do…
Apple TV on a 42-inch TV makes Flickr photos look amazing! May 4, 2010
The Apple Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago has a 42-inch Panasonic display to show off their Apple TV product. Being curious how flickr photos show up on the Apple TV, I pulled up my Chicago HDR set. I stood…
The Grand and not-so-Grand new staircases for the CTA red line station April 30, 2010
What’s your choice? Walking up a nice set of granite stairs or up an echoing metal staircase? You couldn’t have more a difference between the two new staircases installed in the Grand red line station. For the commuters from the…
A few ideas on how to improve London’s Orbit public sculpture April 1, 2010
The same artist who did the Chicago Bean (Cloudgate) is designing this super huge sculpture for London and their Olympics in 2012. (via the Guardian) The structure will officially be called the ArcelorMittal Orbit, after steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, the…
Pulaski Park Fieldhouse is a wonder December 10, 2009
A few blocks east of Chicago’s hipster neighborhood lies the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. The Renegade Craft Fair holiday show has been held in this wonderful building the past couple years. It’s so much fun exploring all the rooms. Imagine when…
Half Letter Press selling booklets about art in Chicago June 11, 2009
Based in Chicago Half Letter Press publishes and distributes booklets about collaborative and experimental artwork. I recently discovered their shop at halfletterpress.com and ordered a bunch of books–for cheap! Here’s the message I wrote in part of my online order:…
My picks for the Pilcrow Lit Fest in Chicago May 21, 2009
Pilcrow Lit Fest has a lot going on this Saturday May 23. Matilda‚Äôs: 3101 N. Sheffield and Trader Todd‚Äôs: 3216 N. Sheffield, Chicago There‚Äôs a ton of free panels and workshops. http://pilcrowlitfest.com/panels.html For every time slot there are three different…