LORADO TAFT. The Iroquois Memorial

The thing I like most about Taft -- after his beautiful people - is his balance of composition. Not quite symmetry - more aptly described as balance - it allows a remarkable variance of detail within a well defined whole. We're all familiar with his Fountain of the Great Lakes (below).

Lesser known is his Memorial to the Iroquois Fire dated 1910. Within the overall tragedy Taft finds space for  touching scenes of Mother and Child (below).

This Plaque hangs near the West Entrance of City Hall. It's easy to overlook the detail -- but worth a couple of minutes. Next time you're there. To pick up a Building Permit.

The Iroquois Fire disaster was caused by improper electrical wiring and its proximity to flammable materials -- and had significant impact on the Chicago Building Code. (The doors in this picture actually swing INWARD -- for easy entry)

Chicago loves its disasters.  Ghost Tours prowl the alley behind the site of the Iroquois on Randolph and talk about screams in the night. Link to this THE IROQUOIS THEATER FIRE for a particularly ghoulish description of the disaster.

____________________

FOR MORE CHICAGO SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY

VISIT

THE CHICAGO LOOP.org

PORNOGRAPHY. NUDES. Looky Here. A Post You Won't Forget!

I've received three phone calls since my last post: a list of Henry Hering's Sculpture in Chronological order. With no pictures. All three phone calls had the same gist: if you expect your blog to survive (ie "keep traffic") you're going to have to do better than that. Okay. I've read about this stuff too. Chicago Art Magazine knows the value a "sandbox fight." I, too, have seen them in action. (Argghhh. Grrrrr.) And there's the scare tactic. But its the day after Christmas and I don't feel so scary. And why even try when there's PORNOGRAPHY. Pornography always sells.

So in order to make up for that Hering thing, today I post NAKED MEN AND WOMEN and list them as "keywords." The photographs are a study of Lorado Taft's 1907 "Pastoral" at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The fern garden, today, was A VERY STEAMY PLACE.

.

We probably would have "gotten it" without the rabbit.  Come to think about it, Lorado Taft's work is  still "suggestive." Taft's "Fountain of the Great Lakes" actually brought about a review of the City of Chicago's Obscenity Ordinance. "Solitude of the Soul still evokes comment.   The additional publicity brought both fame and notoriety to Taft. Maybe, maybe the tactic will work again.

Taft and Hering had much in common.  Both are early twentieth century sculptors with significant bodies (another keyword) of work in Chicago.  Both worked in "Studios" with a team of sculptors:  Hering in the Cornish,  Taft at the Midway.  And both failed to make the transition to Deco.  (eg. failed to monetize their product). 

I'm glad I have a sense of humor.

FOR MORE CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT

THE CHICAGO LOOP.org

.

NELLIE WALKER. The Eagle's Nest

Nellie Walker and Leonard Crunelle finished Lorado Taft's Heald Square Monument near Wacker and Wabash after Taft's death. Leonard Crunelle has an important list of work to his credit. Nellie Walker is known for being a member of Taft's Midway Studio. Below is Walker's maquette for Chief Keokuk. She created this work at the Eagle's Nest. It is on display at the Oregon Public Library.

.

Note the expressive face. We may owe more to Ms Walker for the Heald monument than we know.