When I taught journalism years ago at Loyola University Chicago, I’d sometimes have the students do a little exercise, literally and figuratively.
With classes in the North Loop, I’d have them go on a walk near the Water Tower Campus, putting them in groups of three or four and sending them out after informing them there’s “news” on this block and telling them they need to figure out what it is.
They almost never were successful.
Is it the broken street sign?
The overflowing trash can on the corner?
A car illegally parked?
No, no and no.
What I wanted them to discover was a house.
The entire block was mostly filled with high-rises. But there was this old, historic, architecturally significant home tucked in among them, only inches away from neighboring buildings.
So out of place. So curious.
And I wanted them to spot it with their own eyes.
The aim was for them to open eyes, because our business isn’t only about reporting the news. First, it’s about finding and identifying the news.
I mention this in the context of the Chicago Sun-Times’ 4-year-old “Murals and Mosaics” series on public art, launched in July 2019, that I oversee.
Every week in our Sunday print editions and online at suntimes.com, we showcase a piece of street art in the city or suburbs. We also put out a free email newsletter that features the mural of the week and also an assortment of other items and photos.
We started this project because of the way public artwork has exploded across the Chicago area, bringing color and beauty to neighborhoods and also some deeper meaning behind the art.
Often, we find the art we feature just by driving around and looking. Once every week or two, I hop in the car and drive, usually in the city, sometimes in the suburbs. I zigzag around without any particular goal in mind except to visit an area I might not normally see, aiming for discovery.
Though not always successful, there’s often a payoff.
Most of what I do for the Sun-Times involves investigative reporting. So finding and writing about murals offers a nice diversion from writing about crooked politicians, mobsters and other scoundrels.
Not that street art is necessarily all soft and fluffy. It’s often serious, touching on subjects such as equity and oppression and other social issues.
But just as painting is an outlet for the artists, writing about them also provides an outlet for me.
One of the cooler murals I spotted this year by wandering around is on North Avenue near Springfield Avenue in Humboldt Park. It’s been there for more than 40 years, but it was new to me.
I ended up interviewing one of the original artists, Lynn Takata, who explained how this was not your typical mural.
“Hundreds of bolts were attached to the wall to create a mechanical attachment,” Takata said. “Colored mortar was applied in layers. And while the mortar has set but was still able to be carved, designs were sketched into the top layer and then carved, removing the top layers of mortar to reveal either black or green layers underneath.”
Titled “Para La Gente del Futuro” or “For the People of the Future,” and done with artists John P. Weber and Jose Guerrero, the piece essentially is a giant sculpture.
“We wanted to offer a sense of hope and represent the diverse cultural heritage of the community,” Takata said.
Another mural on the West Side, in an alley behind the Westside Justice Center legal aid clinic, at 601 S. California Ave. in East Garfield Park, I spotted on a similar drive in 2022. Created by the Chicago artist known as B’Rael Thunder, the piece is titled “Sowing Seeds” and portrays the community as “a garden.”
In the South Loop, a similar drive-about led to an alley mural by ZorZorZor that features two characters in traditional “highlander” Polish dress, a nod to the Bridgeport artist’s roots.
On the Southwest Side not far from Midway Airport, I once stumbled by a mural emblazoned on the side of a home where the Castillo family lives.
I was driving around after a tipster had pointed me toward another mural nearby, featuring a tree in a funky design on a viaduct wall.
We also get a significant number of our topics and ideas from readers. We’re happy to hear from you and have an email address to send suggestions: murals@suntimes.com.
Someone recently tipped us about a new mural in Northbrook done by a father-and-son team, Terry Luc and Gerry Luc.
Sometimes, the tips and the wandering are intertwined.
One of my kids lives on the North Side and enjoys riding his bike when the weather is nice. He happened by a mural by Laura Junge as she was wrapping it up, flagged me and sent photos, and we did a story.
Altogether, we’ve published more than 200 stories on street art and the artists who have created it and showcased dozens more from the Chicago area in our weekly Murals and Mosaics newsletter.
We’ve also created a mural exhibition near the Sun-Times offices at Navy Pier and have done a special magazine spotlighting some of the best.
I’m often asked about favorites. One would be the mural with the floating eyes along the Kennedy Expressway.
And favorite artists? The graffiti artist Joos is up there, not just talented but also quite a character.
And Max Sansing. He does tons of new stuff and also rehabbed an older mural in South Shore recently that we featured.
Another big gem of a mural is quite small, featuring an iconic Swedish warship in Andersonville, which I happened by. It’s so small and tucked away that I bet many people drive by without noticing it.
Which is why I keep driving around and looking for more.
