Monday, May 14, 2007

Inspired by a trip to Garfield Park

One of the great places in Chicago is Garfield Park and though the city really needs to get its shit together and fix this place. Most of the park is deplorable and an embarrassment to the city but the area around the Garfield Park Conservatory is looking pretty good. We went to the park this week to see the installation of Niki de Saint Phalle sculptures. For those of you that are into sculpture or perhaps if you have been to Paris, you may know the sculptor’s work. One of her most notable works is the Stravinski Fountain, a collaboration with Jean Tinguely adjacent to the Centre Georges Pompidou.
The installation is amazing. The landscape and conservatory are dotted with massive, highly colored figural sculptures. If you are in Chicago this summer, this is something you should not miss. If you have kids, they will love it as most of the sculptures are installed so that they can be climbed on.The trip to Garfield Park inspired me. We spent the day on Sunday planting and fixing up the garden. With the help of my visiting mother in law, we potted flowers and planted the tub and beds. I think it looks nice. There are no big colorful sculptures but my wife is glad to see my collection of large terra cotta ornament outside in the garden as opposed to in the house.
Another project I tackled was a landing for our garbage cans. Since we moved in, this has been a brush covered mound. Though we try and keep our garbage in this area, precariously balanced on various CMU pavers, it has never really worked. Almost as a message to us from the garbage men, at the end of trash collection day, scattered garbage cans would barricade us from the garage door. Hopefully this week, they will find their way back to the pad.
In case you were wondering about yesterday’s post, the stumps are still there. I am crossing my fingers the landscaper shows up today to take them away but I am not holding my breath anymore.

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