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Chicago Tribune
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Laura Washington: The Art Institute is slowly getting back to normal
The lions at the Art Institute of Chicago must be smiling. It's about time. In this space three years ago, I excoriated the famed museum for a myriad of reasons. The iconic felines that guard the museum's entrance shared my unhappiness. We were dismayed by the state of Chicago's premiere art palace, for everything from closing its doors for two days a week to shutting down its restaurants and food services, and firing the docents who provided tours and hosted thousands of visitors so diligently for so many years. It seemed that our venerable art museum had reached its nadir. Back then, the whole city was struggling to escape the pandemic. For Chicago, its economy, artistic ecosystem and cultural ethos, this was a major concern. The lions roared, and disapprobation was their message. The Art Institute, Chicago's most celebrated cultural institution, sits on the city's front porch. Yet, it was not there when it was needed most, leaving an unwelcome vacuum in the heart of the city. The Art Institute is on Chicago's 'ultimate bucket list,' according to Choose Chicago. 'Explore the Art Institute of Chicago to admire one of the largest collections of Impressionist art outside the Louvre and the stunning modern art wing,' declares the Choose Chicago website. Now it's back, and the lions and I are happy, less cranky, as things are getting back to normal. Witness the museum's hours. The feebleness of those hours was shocking. It is now open on Wednesdays and is operating six days a week. That's a big step. Few other world-class museums would dare to be closed two days a week. The museum still needs to get back to seven days, but hopefully, that's a work in progress. Downtown needs all the juice it can get. This development brings a shadow of a smile to the lions. They may not be ready to roar, but they are up for an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile. And guess what? Now, you can meet a friend and catch a lunch at the Art Institute. The cafe has finally reopened. The outdoor fountain where my beloved mother and I dined for so many summer afternoons is back. This serene and classic Chicago spot has been restored. The sound of the water tinkling on the fountain's bronze statues makes my heart flutter. Something I lost has been found. The museum's restaurant, however, is a work in progress. It's lame. Overpriced. Impersonal. Corporate. I'll leave it at that. The new members lounge is two steps forward, one step back. The old space was always too crowded, too small. Often you would arrive to relax but there was nowhere to sit. The new space, which replaced the shuttered Terzo Piano restaurant on the third floor of the Modern Wing, is bright and spacious. There's no problem finding a table. The view is lovely. The Michigan Avenue curtain wall is visible to the west with Grant Park to the east. I have another beef — the lounge has the character of a Marriott Extended Stay lobby breakfast space. Just add a microwave. There are brighter spots. My top pick shows the museum is back in full swing. Or should I say full repose? The museum's Ando Gallery beckons us with silence and thoughtfully curated Japanese and Korean objects of distinction. The gallery, populated with 16 pillars, is a serene space of inspiration and reflection. You can feel the good vibe throughout the building. It would be the perfect place to hold yoga and meditation classes. Now, there's an idea! Another piece of uncanny interest is this summer's offering, Raqib Shaw's elaborate allegorical painting, 'Paradise Lost.' Shaw is a painter born in Calcutta and raised in Kashmir. The exhibit of the painting opened June 7. His 100-foot-wide, 21-panel piece is literally the work of a lifetime. It illuminates the picaresque stories of an artist's journey into the maze of his imagination. In the words of the artist, it is 'my journey from youth to decrepitude and death and beyond.' The lions will tell you. There's no pussyfooting around. The Art Institute is back.
Chicago Tribune
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Fans reflect on NASCAR's (possibly) final race in Chicago
As NASCAR fans from across the globe gathered for the 2025 Chicago Street Race on Saturday, some spectators reveled in the moment more than usual, knowing it may be the last time the city hosts the event. This is the third and final year of NASCAR's contract with the city for the Fourth of July weekend event. Racing officials have not released a full schedule for 2026, and Mayor Brandon Johnson has so far not committed to bringing NASCAR back. NASCAR Chicago Street Race President Julie Giese has been tight-lipped about NASCAR's future in the city, as well. A two-year extension for the course to stay in Chicago remains possible, but far from certain. Races in the previous two years have been met with rainy weather, leading to lengthy delays. Some residents have been lukewarm about the event, as it comes with street closures that make 10 commonly used intersections inaccessible. And after days of snarled traffic and rerouted buses, it takes awhile for the Loop to return to normal. Amid the uncertainty, thousands of dedicated racing fans streamed into Chicago's Grant Park early Saturday morning, braving the hot weather but enjoying clear blue skies as drivers completed their initial practice runs. 'I am out here because this will probably be the last year,' said John Drexler, a 66-year-old truck driver from Schaumburg and self-described 'gearhead.' Drexler said it would be a shame to lose a spectacle, which showcases Chicago's skyline for an international audience. 'I've been a racing fan for more than 50 years, so I hope they bring it back,' he said. 'Monaco and Long Beach are the only cities that are even comparable to this.' Many spectators watched the race — and visited Chicago — for the first time. The street course rookies seemed in awe of the atmosphere. 'So far it's been awesome. I'm over the moon,' said Scott Russell, 52, who traveled from Melbourne, Australia. 'I paid a fortune for tickets (because) I thought if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this properly. I would definitely come back to Chicago without a doubt.' Fans filled the grandstands east of the pit stops on Columbus Drive and lined the fences along the rest of the 2.2-mile lakefront course, many wincing as drivers roared past at more than 100 mph. Drivers maneuvered through Grant Park and skirted Lake Michigan, sped past the Museum Campus down to Roosevelt Road, taking several 90-degree turns at about 50 mph, eventually heading north on Michigan Avenue and then east past the Art Institute of Chicago on Jackson Drive. 'I've been to all three of these because I felt like this was maybe not going to be around forever,' said Mike Piotrowski, who grew up watching racing on television. Piotrowski is not like some of the NASCAR fans who have been to races all over the country. David Cox, 52, said he has made trips to Talladega in Lincoln, Alabama, and Bristol, in Tennessee, as well as watched races in Michigan. 'A NASCAR race is like a marriage, everyone should try it at least once,' Cox said. 'If you don't like it, don't go back.' John Tucker, a Lutheran minister from Salisbury, N.C., has been to four races this year. His daughter is married to an engineer from RCR Racing, which is why he became a traveling NASCAR fan eight years ago. He thinks the racing itself is interesting, but he said he became a true fan when he saw the 'camaraderie of the pit crews.' 'They really look after each other,' Tucker said. 'Family care is important to me, and to see that with a team … I didn't expect that.' Before Saturday, Tammy Southern had not been to a NASCAR race since 1997. This weekend was the first time she and her husband, Bradley, were able to take a vacation alone since they had children. They came to Chicago from South Bend, Indiana, to soak up 'the stuff that you don't normally see when you're at home watching it.' 'There's so many different experiences here that we get to see,' Southern said. 'It's sad that this might be the last one here.' The weekend featured one of its first nonrainy days, as fans treated themselves to mock races, a trip down pit lane during qualifying and a look at each racer's RV. Workers repaired cars while others kept the crew hydrated in the high-80s degree weather. Thirty-eight drivers qualified for Saturday's Xfinity Series The Loop 110 race, and many said Chicago's heat wave made the course hotter and slicker than the past two years, making it more difficult to avoid scraping the walls. 'When the track is that hot and slick, there is no margin for error,' said 36-year-old New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, just after completing the fastest time during the Loop 110 qualifying round. Gisbergen, the winner of the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023, said he also hopes the Chicago Street Race returns for another year. 'You walk to the track with all the fans and it's really cool,' he said. 'This is a place that is really special to me.' Many fans said they would love to see the race remain in Chicago, as well. They rave about how close spectators are to the track, as well as the 'smell of the tires and asphalt' as racers drove by. 'I'm really happy to be here because it's my first time I've ever been to Chicago and the city has amazed me (because of) how clean it is and the amount of people I've met and how friendly they are,' Russell said. 'If someone said to me, 'You want to go to Chicago (for the race)?', I'll be like 'Yup, let's go.''
Chicago Tribune
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Letters: Title of exhibition at the Art Institute smacks of whitewashing
As a longtime supporter of the Art Institute of Chicago and an admirer of Gustave Caillebotte's work, I must express my profound disappointment with the institute's decision to rename the recent joint exhibition — originally titled 'Painting Men' at the Musée d'Orsay and the Getty Museum — to the sanitized and evasive 'Painting His World' here in Chicago. Having visited the d'Orsay's presentation last fall, where 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' — a masterpiece shared between Chicago and Caillebotte — stood as a centerpiece, I was struck by the French curatorial approach: thoughtful, honest and open to interpretation. The title 'Painting Men' was not an imposition or a presumption; it was an acknowledgment of the artist's lifelong preoccupation with the male figure, urban masculinity, and male intimacy in public and private spaces. By contrast, the Art Institute's retitling feels like a disappointing act of erasure. The new title not only dulls the edge of inquiry but reinforces the notion that recognition of queerness — or even ambiguity — in an artist's work must be neutralized for the comfort of a presumed audience. Equally troubling was curator Gloria Groom's response during Thursday night's member preview, in which she dismissed any exploration of Caillebotte's possible queerness by claiming she would not 'presume' his sexuality. Yet acknowledging that Caillebotte painted men — overwhelmingly, repeatedly and with intimacy — is not presumption. It's fact. What the French curators did so well was allow space for interpretation without fear, offering viewers the dignity of their own intelligence. Chicagoans deserve better. We should not shrink from critical engagement or whitewash complexity in the name of palatability. It's disappointing to see the Art Institute — once a beacon for cultural leadership — kowtow to imagined donor discomfort or a conservative fear of thought-provoking conversation. Let's trust our audiences, as the French have, to explore the fullness of an artist's world — including the people who populated constructive criticism by Edward Keegan in the Tribune ('Chicago Fire stadium plans cry out for a bit of quirkiness,' June 25) regarding the design of the new soccer stadium and the surrounding land referred to as The 78 in Chicago's South Loop prompts reflection on the many proposals for this land development, the Bears' new stadium and the possible new home for the White Sox. The design of the stadium and surrounding area offers a breath of fresh air in a city teeming with ideas but coming up short on the delivery. As a self-made man, Fire owner Joe Mansueto will fund this project with his own money as he has done with other projects mentioned by Keegan in the column. No whining. No pouting. No expectation of state funding nor Chicago resident tax dollars to build a private stadium for a soccer team. Yes, it differs from a traditional look in the stadium world. Open to criticism, the Gensler firm has presented a solid design. No political shenanigans. No groveling. A proposed start and finish date with a realistic budget. Rising above the need for a pat on the back, Mansueto has demonstrated the fortitude required to bring a solid idea to fruition with proper funding. Residents owe Mansueto our backing and a thank you for a job well has gotten a lot of bad press lately. As a lifelong Chicago-area resident, I would like to share some positives about a recent experience of mine. Last month, I walked from the West Ridge neighborhood to downtown and back — about 26.2 miles, or the distance of a marathon. I zigzagged through many neighborhoods, going through parks and streets. The street market in the Logan Square neighborhood went on for about a half mile. The stalls were packed with fruits, veggies, ethnic cuisine and even morel mushrooms. The music was lively, and the people were friendly. No police officers. As I approached, Humboldt Park was bustling with families out walking, kids playing ball and lovers holding hands. The park is where my parents courted in the 1940s. In my mind, I was able to picture them having a great day in the park. Part of the allure of this neighborhood is Humboldt Boulevard — gazing at the old mansions and churches that were once Jewish synagogues. I eventually headed to the United Center and then east. I can see how this neighborhood, once decimated by the riots of 1968 following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has been transformed. The cafes and stores bustle with people of all ages. The West Loop is alive and well. In the 1970s, this was not possible. Once I got downtown, it was crowded for a Sunday. I headed back north, going through the North Side neighborhoods of Bucktown and Old Town. Some of the side streets are lovely, with a canopy of trees over the streets, beautiful gardens and the ever-present Chicago black wrought-iron fences. Going through Wrigleyville on a game day will always be an experience unto itself. The crowds gathered outside the ballpark were covered in Cubs wear. There were vendors selling water, peanuts, shirts and hats. The streets of Clark and Addison were blocked off, so it was like a street fair. The cops were friendly and helped tourists take pictures of the marquee. Then on to the Lakeview, Lincoln Square and Budlong Woods neighborhoods before returning to West Ridge. They were mostly subdued compared to the other areas that I covered, but they were all well kept up and clean. The city itself never looked better, and the people of this city do appreciate all that Chicago has to offer. There is an abundance of neighborhood parks in which everyone can enjoy a drink from a water fountain or a splash from it to cool off.I read that Mel Brooks just turned 99 years old. Maybe laughter is the best medicine.
Chicago Tribune
29-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Route 66: The last (or first) 300 miles in Illinois
Our Route 66 road trip ended at the beginning, at East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where a brown sign hanging 12 feet high on a light post tells people they've reached the venerable road's threshold. On a hot and windy Saturday evening in June a large group of well-dressed people stood on the steps at the nearby Art Institute of Chicago, between the museum's famed bronze lions and below a sign advertising an exhibit on Frida Kahlo's time in Paris. Members of a mariachi band weaved through the crowd of pedestrians walking along Michigan. Few people stopped at the Route 66 sign. Those that did, did not linger long. They pointed, noted its existence, and continued on their way. While the route often conjures images of quaint small towns, its foundation, said historian and author Jim Hinckley, has always been rooted in Chicago. The existing roads and trails that would eventually become Route 66 nearly 100 years ago largely followed the railroad, with Chicago as its hub. 'Chicago's part of Route 66 is a huge part of the Route 66 story,' Hinckley said. 'It is a cornerstone.' About 300 miles southwest of Chicago, different alignments of the route leave St. Louis and cross the Mississippi at three different bridges. The northernmost iteration once spanned the river at the milelong Chain of Rock Bridge. Constructed three years after the route was commissioned, the bridge makes a 30-degree turn at its midpoint between St. Louis and Madison, Illinois. The bridge closed in 1968, replaced by a new one 2,000 feet upstream. Today, the original structure carries pedestrians, cyclists and, on a Thursday in June, one dog. The road climbs north toward Springfield, where a former Texaco gas station from 1946 a block from the route now houses the Route History Museum, which documents the Black experience on Route 66. Public health researchers by trade, museum founders Gina Lathan and Stacy Grundy spent more than a year collecting stories of Black homeowners and business owners — some found in The Negro Motorist Green Book — who provided safe havens along the route at a time when vast stretches of the highway passed through sundown towns. Museum visitors are given virtual reality headsets to help bring those stories to life. 'They want to be a part of the story of Route 66,' Lathan said of the families she and Grundy interviewed, 'and be recognized for not only what their family and the community brought to that whole travel experience, but what they as a people did to not only persevere but make these phenomenal economic engines in these communities that were oftentimes forgotten.' Continuing north, stretches of the route lie nestled between Interstate 55 and farmlands. In Atlanta, population 1,637, a group of international journalists and media buyers from at least a dozen countries snapped photos of towering 'muffler man' fiberglass statues — once used to advertise businesses along the route — collected at the town's American Giants museum. The group trip, organized by the state's tourism office, followed the International Pow Wow (IPW) travel trade show in Chicago. Illinois has invested millions over the last few years on Route 66 redevelopment and promotion, said Eric Wagner with the state tourism office. 'Route 66 is huge for us,' he said. 'People want to see America.' Follow our road trip: Route 66, 'The Main Street of America,' turns 100 About 50 miles north, Pontiac also appears to have capitalized on its position along the route. Among its attractions is the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum. There, visitors can find a school bus-turned-land yacht and a Volkswagen van belonging to Bob Waldmire, whose family opened the Springfield, Illinois, institution Cozy Dog on Route 66 and claims to have invented the corn dog. Waldmire became a legendary figure of the route's lore with his hand-drawn postcards, maps and murals. Both he and the van he took on his frequent route trips served as the inspiration for the character Fillmore in the Disney Pixar film 'Cars.' Waldmire died in 2009 of cancer, before he could finish painting a map of the Route 66 stretch through Illinois on a wall of the museum. 'He was very friendly, that's why he never got the mural done,' said Rose Geralds, 87, who has worked at the museum for the last 18 years. 'He stopped and talked to everybody. He didn't care. He just wanted to talk to the people. Just such a nice man.' Forty miles north, artist Robert Ryan, 61, stopped to inspect a detail in the mural he's painting on a storage building along Route 66 in Wilmington's South Island Park, next to the town's famed Gemini Giant, a 30-foot-tall fiberglass 'muffler man' recently relocated to the park after once facing destruction. Ryan's design, picked out of 20 or so entries, covers three walls of the building. One side shows a large Route 66 shield behind a yellow convertible driven by the original owners of the Launching Pad restaurant where the Gemini Giant once stood. Nearby, the town's football team waves to viewers. A mural on another wall has the giant standing in front of an American flag and behind the town name painted in block letters. A third wall mural depicts motorcyclists on the route. 'The best part has been talking to people who stop to ask about it,' Ryan said. Leaving Wilmington, the route heads past farmlands now broken up by massive logistic centers amassed on the outskirts of Joliet, where the country's largest inland port is located. It cuts through Joliet's downtown, past Stateville Correctional Center and into Romeoville and Bolingbrook. It's briefly absorbed by I-55 before returning as Joliet Road. Near Hodgkins, the route is forced to detour around a quarry where a stretch of the road has been closed for decades. It links up with Ogden Avenue in Berwyn and takes motorists through Cicero and into Chicago, through North Lawndale, Douglass Park and across the Eisenhower Expressway, named for the president who commissioned the interstate highway system that led to its demise. Route 66 then hits Jackson Boulevard and runs to its eastbound end. A block north of Jackson, a similar brown sign on a light post at Adams Street and Michigan marks the start of Route 66 for those heading west. At 8 a.m. on Sunday in June a family of three stopped to pose for pictures in front of the sign. This was not the start of their journey but, rather, a seemingly good photo opportunity. But a mile west at the unofficial start of the route, the 102-year-old Lou Mitchell's diner, Eleonora Tomassetti and Chiara Voceri took the last bites of a pancake before heading to pick up their rental car. Originally from Rome, the pair, both 27, first got the idea for a Route 66 road trip in high school. Earlier this year, they decided to turn that idea into a reality. They planned a two-week trip: Stops in Joliet, Atlanta and Springfield. An overnight stay in St. Louis. Another in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Two nights in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stops in Winslow and Flagstaff, both in Arizona. Detours to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Said Tomassetti: 'I think it's the perfect example of the American adventure.'
Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mass tourism a modern ill
Opinion When I went to Paris in 2012, I skipped the Louvre. Sacré bleu! Don't get me wrong: I notably love an art museum and try to go to one in every city I visit. From the Tate Modern in London to the Art Institute of Chicago to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to the Denver Art Museum, I've had the absolute privilege — and it is that — to have seen many amazing works by incredible artists at world-class institutions. But the Louvre gave me a particular kind of crowd anxiety. I'd seen the photos of sweaty throngs of people jockeying to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa which, in addition to being famous, is famously not a large painting; Leonardo da Vinci's Renassiance-era portrait is 77 by 53 centimetres. Thibault Camus / The Associated Press Seeing Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa seems to be on a lot of bucket lists. Our girl draws 30,000 visitors a day, which means actually getting anywhere close to her is all but impossible, and I'm sure it's only gotten worse with the advent of selfies and content creators. I just took an exterior photo of the Louvre Pyramid (itself a cultural landmark) and called it a day. On Monday, the Louvre, which is the world's most-visited museum, closed its doors, leaving long lines of tourists stranded outside. The temporary closure was the result of a so-called wildcat strike, an unauthorized work stoppage by unionized employees. Staff are exhausted, trying to work at a crumbling institution that cannot handle the staggering crowds. And 80 per cent of visitors to the Louvre are there to see the Mona Lisa. I'll admit that I don't quite understand this. I get making a pilgrimage to see a masterpiece — Vermeer's The Milkmaid, Kent Monkman's The Scream and Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte are all works I've written about travelling to have a moment with — and I agree that the Mona Lisa is a masterpiece. But why this masterpiece — so reproduced, parodied and pop culture-fied — is harder to parse, especially since the gauntlet one must pass through to see it looks so miserable. The Louvre has what New York Times arts critic Jason Farago dubbed a 'Mona Lisa Problem.' 'No other iconic painting — not Botticelli's Birth of Venus at the Uffizi in Florence, not Klimt's Kiss at the Belvedere in Vienna, not Starry Night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York — comes anywhere close to monopolizing its institution like she does,' he wrote in 2019. That one artwork, he argued, eclipses all the others in the museum, including others right near it, and it needs its own dedicated space outside of the Louvre. I do wonder if the Mona Lisa is, for many people, simply a box to be checked, something people feel they have to do (and I'm using the word 'do' intentionally, as though it's on a list, instead of 'see') because that's just what you do when you go to Paris. In other words, you can't talk about the Mona Lisa without talking about mass tourism, of which this kind of bingo-card box ticking is a symptom. Also this week, Spaniards in Barcelona and Mallorca sprayed tourists with water pistols to protest an oversaturation of visitors they say is contributing to both an erosion of their communities' character and a housing shortage. It's not just Spain. You don't have to search far to find similar complaints about overtourism in Japan, Iceland or Switzerland. The advent of Instagram Tourism, where influencers visit places just to take perfect photos for social media — coupled with the proliferation of short-term rentals — only adds to the pressure on these places, many of which hold humanity's greatest achievements. People are unlikely to stop visiting these hyper-popular locales, even though I think we can agree that mass tourism, at the level it's at now, is unsustainable socially, economically and environmentally, which no one likes to talk about because, well, people want to travel. Travel can be enriching. It can change your perspective. It can give you a better understanding of the world and your place in it. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. But is throwing elbows to see the Mona Lisa really a meaningful cultural experience? Does 'going for the 'Gram' really allow one to have real interactions with a place where, by the way, actual people live? The good news is, there's a whole big globe to explore. Going off the beaten path might yield more discovery of out-of-the-way local economies where you could spend your tourism dollars. Might I suggest Winnipeg? I realize I am probably mostly preaching to residents, but I'm serious. Maybe not while there are wildfires burning in the province, but any other time. We've got history. We've got nature. We've got A+ restaurants. If it's art you're looking for, we've got that, too, and it's not an abject nightmare to go look at it. We've even got a Seine. Just as there are other artworks in the Louvre, there are other cities in the world. Jen ZorattiColumnist Jen Zoratti is a columnist and feature writer working in the Arts & Life department, as well as the author of the weekly newsletter NEXT. A National Newspaper Award finalist for arts and entertainment writing, Jen is a graduate of the Creative Communications program at RRC Polytech and was a music writer before joining the Free Press in 2013. Read more about Jen. Every piece of reporting Jen produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
