Who made it: William Walker, the late Chicago artist often hailed as the father of the urban mural movement. Where: The neighborhood formerly known as Cabrini-Green. When: For five months in 1972, in an era of social revolution, Walker climbed the scaffolding outside the church and created his vision of the world. In the grand arch, he painted four figures of different races -- two men, two women -- clasping hands. Toward the bottom of the wall, he depicted two people -- one black, one white -- sharing a meal. Up top, he painted the names of martyrs. Jesus. Dr. King. Anne Frank. Gandhi. Malcolm X. It was a rendering of the past and a better future, of the terrible and the hopeful, in a neighborhood that for decades symbolized the worst of Chicago to the world. Really great story by Mary Schmich.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 21:00:01 +0000