“Home” by Nick Adam and Thor Goodlife

The work of art I chose is called “Home”, created by Nick Adam and Thor Goodlife. “Home” is a street art painting located at the corner of Milwaukee Ave. and Kedzie in Logan Square, Chicago. It is at the Logan Square Blue Line stop, where people come and go passing this mural every single day. The painting covers an entire side of this CTA building in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, red, and white. The artist, Nick Adam, said he used these primary colors on purpose, to represent structure and the stability of having a place to call home, no matter where it may be. Covering a majority of the mural is the word “Home” in large bubble letters in a sort of wave up the wall, the “O” being in the shape of a heart with a keyhole in the center. Just below the “E”, there is a large hand holding a key with a keychain that is the shape of a house connected to it. To the right of this half of the mural is a painted blue door with two windows above it, portraying an actual home. The painting of the word “Home” is more worn down and rustic looking than the rest of the wall, which many people believe was due to artist intention. Nick Adam explains that a huge storm hit Chicago just weeks before him and Thor were finishing up this project, making it not look exactly like their original plan but when they saw it after there was no desire to change it from its storm-damaged state.

Nick Adam was selected by Johalla Projects, along with Thor Goodlife, to create a public art mural for the city of Chicago at the Logan Square Blue Line stop. When the two were presented with this opportunity, they both agreed that is was one they could not pass up due to their pure love for the city. The artists spent weeks directing, designing, and painting this collaborative mural with one another. They came up with the idea of “Home” when thinking about the fact of it being on a large brick wall. Nick Adam said, “walls serve a functional purpose of creating shelter, the homes and spaces that protect us from the elements”. They created this piece with the intention that everyone who sees it has some type of personal connection or emotional experience with it. Since the wall mural has been finished, tens of thousands of people have visited this wall to take photos of or with it, some even having their wedding photos taken there. The size and placement of the mural is for the hope that when people see this, they will not only consider their actual physical house their home, but also start to bring their community into their definition of home. The placement of “Home” on the side of a train stop was also intentional. The artists wanted home to be concept that is not only where people consider to be their home, but to be something that travels with them too. Along with these meanings, the main themes that Nick Adam and Thor Goodlife wanted to portray were the comfort and safety of home, and respect for the city of Chicago.

When I first looked at this piece, I was immediately overcome with a sense of happiness. Everything about the mural, the colors, the word “Home”, the key, the heart shaped lock, etc. is all so pleasing for me to look at. When I saw this and read the artist’s description of it, it made me think of what I consider to be home. The fact that it is located in Chicago already makes it special to me because I have lived in Chicago my entire life. “Home” is located on a Blue Line station and everytime I have taken the train to go downtown, I took the Blue Line, and even though I have not seen this in person before, the thought of going to Downtown Chicago brings happy memories. I love this piece because I have always loved Chicago, and it’s a place that I think I will always consider home. Aside from the Chicago aspect of it, the part that is most thought provoking to me is the heart shaped lock. It makes me think about how whatever you consider to be your home is completely up to you. It reminds me of the saying “home is where the heart is”, and that the keyhole represents that you can unlock your “home” wherever you may be. The artist, as mentioned above, stated he wanted this bring your community into your definition of home, which is another reason it brought emotion to me. It makes me think of all of the people in my community, whether it is my immediate family or people I have not seen in years, that I could be with or even just think of and that alone would make me feel at home.