Stephen Eichhorn’s “The Climb/Reality” on view at the Damen Blue Line station (all images courtesy of Johalla Projects)
CHICAGO — For two days in a row this past weekend, I boarded the train to Forest Park at the Damen Blue Line station. This was unusual for me, as I’m not a regular commuter — I mostly write from my home office or at one of a few coffee shops. Dragging my feet up the snow- and dirt-muddied stairs, I looked up to see flowers — actually collages of images of flowers, cacti, and other foliage. They were, I soon learned, created by artist Stephen Eichhorn. There may not be a lot of light at the end of the blue line tunnel, but at least there are flowers along the way.
Artist-run gallery Johalla Projects is behind this “Adopt-a-Station” art at the Damen Blue Line. Funded by Chicago’s Special Service Area Program’s Art Committee, the project takes leftover money from the budget and uses that to fund rotating installations. It officially began in 2011 and has thus far shown artists Ian J. Whitmore, Heather Gabel, and now Stephen Eichhorn; works are on display for a period of about six months each.
Read the full story on Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/100263/flowers-on-the-blue-line/
