Dale Chihuly's Art Glass Exhibtion at
the Garfield Park Conservatory
WORKS BY DALE CHIHULY
Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass
November 23, 2001 - May 19, 2002
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Garfield Park Conservatory
300 N. Central Park Ave.
312-746-5100, TTY: 312-986-0726

The CTA's Green Line features a new Conservatory Stop at
Central Park Avenue, a convenient half block to the Conservatory's
front door.

Artist Chihuly notes that; "Chicago is his
Favorite Large City in the United States."

The Ribbon is cut by Dale Chihuly, the Mayor
of Chicago, the CEO of Boeing Corporation
and a host of others....
photos by Ed Vincent, Oak Park Journal
 
 

Dale Chihuly speaks with attendees and
thanks them for their support.

Philip M. Condit, CEO of
Boeing Corporation, Chicago.
photos by Ed Vincent, Oak Park Journal

Monday, November 26, 2001
by Ed Vincent

Many Chicago notables were present the other morning
as the  Chihuly Glass Art Show at the  Garfield Park
Conservatory was officially opened with ribbon cutting
and a whole slew of questions, mostly for Mayor Daley
and mostly not about art.  If politics were designated
as an art form, and why not, the Mayor and the CEO of
the Boeing Corporation, Mr. Phillip Condit would be
chosen as savvy artists.  The Mayor, Richard Daley
has done and is doing a wonderful job with the arts, the
schools, the parks and in bringing much new development
to the metropolitan area.  Millennium Park will be a crown
jewel when it is completed.  The Mayor though was asked
about economic issues of rebuilding the economy by putting
money behind local projects that will get people back to
work.  He was asked about gang violence on the Westside
of the City.  The Mayor responded that the area is safer
because of the Chicago CAPS program and said that the
gangs were “terrorists in our communities.”

The Chihuly  exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory
is a must see event for all our readers (and your friends
too).  Mr.Chihuly has some wonderful creations of colored
glass in shapes to complement nature and the venue for
this event is a match made in heaven, glass under glass.
The Garfield Park Conservatory in the past few years has
regained it's glory of the past and then some with combined
efforts of the Parks of Chicago along with the Garfield
Park Conservatory Alliance (a group of volunteers).
Love and money placed together can achieve some wonderful
results.  The Boeing company has donated $150,000.00 to
help the Park’s Department pay for some of the expenses.
It took ten persons with two large trucks to bring this
wonderful show to Chicago.

Mayor Daley was asked several questions by Channel 5’s
Dick Kay.  Mr. Kay wanted to know about the 5 billion
dollar package that the Mayor is asking for from the Federal
Government.  Chicago would only look to get some 100 Million
of the money and the rest would go to other cities and towns
in the nation to help with the recession and the slower economy.

The Mayor does not want to see any reductions occurring in the
areas of school funding, as had been done years ago in the arts area.
The Mayor noted that the education of the young was the future
for all of us.  Mayor Daley felt that economy should be stimulated
to help get folks back to work, not just money into relief but
economic stimulus and now.

Philip M. Condit, the CEO of Boeing spoke next about the artwork
and the comment that his wife had made.  She said to me; “the art
makes you smile.”  Mr. Condit went on to add that Dale Chihuly
had been innovative with his art and began things that few or none
before had done.  He noted that Mr. Chihuly had enlisted others to
work with him as a team and thus to create larger pieces than any
one person could do.  Mr. Condit also made comment on the importance
of education and the need for intellectual energy in the work force.

Standing in front of Dick Kay I was able to get a question in to
Mr. Condit.  I asked Condit if the intellectual efforts at Boeing
were helping with his bids on military contracts.  (Boeing was having
a rough go of it with McDonald Douglas and their winnings of some
major military contracts).  Mr. Condit replied that Boeing was making
good use of their intellectual powers by continuing to work in a
team environment on today’s upcoming projects.

In moments the line was formed and the ribbon was cut opening the
exhibit with official recognition and fanfare.

Comments after the fact:

Dick Kay has a wonderful voice and very powerful, especially
when he is right behind you.  I asked him later if he had thought
of the opera and he responded that he didn’t know how to read music.

I wished that I had asked Mr. Condit something a little more grand,
something more direct and reflective of the current time and moment.
I wished I had asked him about his feelings of making all future
commercial airliners built only with secure cabin doors ( I could
give a design later, ... using titanium, and several layers of Kevlar
and a perimeter of bolts) and if this might have helped both stock
prices for Boeing and the layoffs of Union labor his company is facing.
They might have cut the ribbon before I got all of that out, but I
shall mail him this article and see what happens.

Click here to have a look at the show
 
 

If you are coming from Oak Park and taking the CTA Green line:
The CTA's Green Line features a new Conservatory Stop at
Central Park Avenue, a convenient half block to the Conservatory's
front door.