reflections

After the day was done, I've come to several conclusions about the trip. Firstly, I need to get back to the Art Institute of Chicago and spend a day or two perusing the galleries there. I almost wish it hadn't been on the list as a must see, simply because we didn't have enough time to do everything properly (spend time enjoying the art available to us, travel to different locations, eat, breathe...), but what I did see, I loved.


The galleries were more hidden than I would have expected for Chicago. Considering the amount of them on our map, I half expected them to have doors open, signs out, the "Come in and enjoy the art!" kind of environment. Instead we stumbled across them and made due with what we could find. Luckily, that still resulted in a great experience, but I can't help but think that it could have gone sour just as easily if we couldn't locate any of them. This considered, the galleries that we did explore were very suited for the art that they contained, and that alone makes me want to go back sometime and find more, with the hope that  that same kind of theme continues.

The biggest let down of the trip was the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Outside of being hard to find, it really did not have much of a selection to look at. The galleries were few, and heavily dominated by one or two artists for every room, of which there weren't many. I felt like it was poorly representing the strength and creativity that there is to find in contemporary photography, especially as far as variety is concerned.

On the other hand, I still had a much better time on the trip than I thought I might. Good food was around every corner, I now know where to go if I ever win the lottery and want to shop for new clothes, I got to see "the bean" and be introduced to a fantastic art supply store that I will want to visit every time I go to Chicago from here on out.