Olivia Gude
Chicago, so often described as a "city of neighborhoods," is the place aptly associated with the beginnings of neighborhood public art. Sparked by the grassroots political and cultural movements of the 1960s, community art has come to portray an America different from the usual signs of commerce concerned instead with social justice, the appreciation of diverse cultures, and the traditional values of family, neighborhood, and spirituality. Urban Art Chicago is a portable guide to the most visually stimulating and historically significant community public art projects in Chicago. It includes 130 full-color illustrations of these artworks, with concise descriptions, historical background, and locations. Produced in cooperation with the Chicago Public Art Group, Urban Art Chicago effectively conveys the vibrancy of community public art (now a national phenomenon) and how it alters the relationship of artist to audience. "The audiences become the artists as they participate in the conception and making of the work," Gude and Huebner write. "The artists are bonded to the community by the process of listening and through participating in the life of a place. The content of the work and the stories of its making create a work which is 'owned' by the community. As someone once said at a public art hearing, 'We want one of those murals that are about us.'"
Art
Urban Art Chicago: A Guide to Community Murals, Mosaics, and Sculptures