Art Institute Artist Date

Had a wonderful trip with Mom on Sunday into Chicago. Train ride in from Aurora, lovely walk down Adams Street to Michigan Avenue. Mom's first trip to Art Institute, where to start? We traveled through most of the Impressionists and moved into the new Modern Art Wing. Odd that the new wing looks as if you're leaving the building rather than entering another era. Wonderful sights. So much to absorb. Ready for a break, we sauntered across the street to split a sandwich and rest a bit before moving back in. Ever so serendipitously as we arrived back at the Art Institute there was a performance beginning in Fullerton Hall. "Vision and Belief" performed by Indiana University's Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. Works, Figure humaine" composed by Francis Poulec in 1943, published in 1945 with a dedication by Pablo Picasso complimented new works by Mexican composer Mario Lavista, the "Stabant Mater,"a chanted poem from Catholic liturgy. The concert itself was an extra surprise and worthy of a trip in itself. Phenomenal performers, deeply moving resonation. A little time left before a walk back to Union Station, I took Mom downstairs to see the children's interactive museum, the Thorne miniatures I knew she'd delight in and collections of enchanting paperweights. Last but not least we walked into the photography exhibit running through May 31st, "In the Vernacular." "Photographs by artists who-through their choice of content, process, aesthetic, or means of dissemination- sought to cross or blur the already fuzzy boundaries between art and the vernacular." Great exhibit branching off into exhibit of photos of Chicago before the great fire. A very good day, train ride home brought us right into messy beginning of winter storm. Took a roll of photos of sky views, but somehow the old roll of film split and could not be developed. Means I have to go again.