Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Uptown Teens' Art Acclaimed


The Sun-Times has an article on the bricolage at Bryn Mawr and Lake Shore Drive, created by teen artists from Alternatives in Uptown:

What artist Tracy Van Duinen and a crew of 32 teens, among others, did on their summer vacation could live on for generations. Earlier this month Van Duinen, fellow artist Todd Osborne and teens from Uptown's social service agency, Alternatives Inc., transformed a dull Lake Shore Drive underpass at Bryn Mawr into a glittering mosaic story of the North Side's Edgewater community.:

Dubbed "Growing 2008," one of the wall's centerpieces features a long-haired brunette who seems to be in a floating embrace. What she's got her arms around, upon closer inspection, are vintage and current photos of community residents -- snapshots fired onto ceramic pieces. Images of a butterfly's life, from caterpillar to chrysalis to grownup, represent the evolution of a community.:

By contrast, this is what Uptown's underpasses look like. However, Mary Ann Smith said in November 2007 that the Lawrence Avenue underpass may get a similar treatment reflecting Uptown's history::

Planning and installation of a new mural will begin after bridge repairs to the Lawrence Avenue underpass are finished. "We'll be calling on the community to help design what the Lawrence Avenue project will say," Smith said. "As we enter our neighborhood it is a very small statement of who we are. The bricolage (mural at Bryn Mawr) reflected the history of Edgewater, Lawrence Avenue (will be) very much about who Uptown is and its history."

7 comments:

  1. That will be a much welcome change to the Lawrence bridge underpass and a much pretty walk to the doggy beach! :)

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  2. Uptown or Edgewater? The mural pays tribute to Edgewater

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  3. Oh, nevermind, the group is from Uptown. Gotcha.

    Gotta learn to read closer....

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  4. I may be thinking of something else but my partner and I walked through there this summer and I thought I recognized some Uptown landmarks as well.

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  5. Edgewater was part of Uptown, but seceded sometime in the 1980s.

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