Chicago Part Deux

SO!!

It was May 14th and our class had spent our first night in the Parthenon hostel in Greek Town Chicago surrounded by felafel restaurants and gyro joints open 24 hours a day. After a very European breakie of toast, jam, and coffee we headed off to the IIT Campus

We checked out Mies Van Der Rohe's beautiful Crown Hall, with its steel I-beams that we could not stop touching, floating travertine stone steps, and awesome incorporation into the nature surrounding it. 

[typical - I needed to prove I actually touched the travertine]

["Poking the I-beams"]

The Student Center was also really interesting and unique.... and Orange!

[was SO stoked I got the train in this picture!]

 

[That's my professor hugging an I-Beam..... I guess the 90's produced architecturally enthusiastic "I-Beam Huggers" rather than those pesky tree-hugging hippy types from the 60's ;)]

After this I had chili once again for lunch in Chicago [it was cold and chilly.... which makes me crave chili] And we got to tour another one of Frank's, The Robie House:

[it was actually a lot cooler in person than in pictures - just so you all know :) it's one to visit]

[stunning inside! but no pictures allowed, these three are not my pictures]

Then we got free time for the afternoon before our feast of Pizano's Pizza. Because of the staggering levels of "nerd" in our group - we all happily chose to spend the rest of the afternoon in the Art Institute. 

My first stop was a trip down memory lane:

These rooms are just flabbergastingly [oh ho! BOOM - no red line, that my friends is a real word!] detailed that as a little 5 year old, I could spend hours in here.   

[mirrors - crazy]

[I know this painting, Charles I, Hunting. The real one is 9 feet tall - while this is only 3 inches! And it looks so spot on!]

[once again, insane detail. this isn't even an inch]

[I love peaking around corners and seeing other rooms and out windows and such]

[How many of these mirrors do we see in Dutch art? Lots!]

The rest of the walk [sprint] through the museum [its too big for 2 hours] consisted of me taking the most random, out of context pictures of brushstrokes, details, and interesting elements. 

Check it:

 [you're gonnu see a lot of suns, and sunlight, and rays - it's just fascinating to me how close artists get to the warmth and glow of the real sun]

 [from Monet to Pollock - just look at all the layers!]

Also here's a painting that has really stuck with me for a while since my visits to this museum:

 This man's face is just so brilliant and beautiful and expressive. He looks so timeless, which I think comes from the impeccable detail - I feel like I'm looking at a man in real life

John Philip Simpson, The Captive Slave, 1827

 I mean gosh, his tear-filled eyes make me want to cry [I think I did once...], and his dewy skin and soft lips look so real you feel like you can reach up and touch his gorgeous face..... this painting is officially going on my P.I.C.O. list [Paintings I Crush On] 

(note to you: this is very typical art historian behavior, I'm not totally cray-cray ;P)

Also Doug need not worry - he's better and funner and cuter than any painting or sculpture could ever be :)

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" Moment:

Kinda Crazy Huh, 

That's really all I've got for you guys

The trip was one of the best field trips I've ever been on [a week at Ferry Beach Ecology School in 6th grade WAS pretty epic and tight though - I'll call it a tie]

I'm so grateful to the Art History Department for letting us do that

and how lucky am I to be only 4 hours away from this place filled with incredible architecture and jaw-dropping art collections - who needs to go to Europe now?? ...... [me, I still need to go to Europe, someday :)]

PS: Congratulations on making it to the end of this God-awful long post ;)